Fullmetal Guardian
by zoepeanut
Summary: Alternate-ending for FMA Brotherhood. Spoilers ahead! Losing the fight against Father, Ed and Al find themselves dragged into an entirely new battle neither of them were prepared for. With one trapped in the Gate of the Truth and the other suffering from amnesia, how will they manage to take down the newly formed team of Father and Pitch?
1. Weakness

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Rise of the Guardians

 **Warning:** This story will contain spoilers for FMA (Brotherhood anime only, I'm not familiar with the others), and also contains character death early on. Read at your own risk.

The battle against Father was not going well. Bullets rained down everywhere, firing endlessly against the man who had gained the power of God. Soldiers shouted and screamed for the fire to continue, to not let up against the man who stood calmly before all of it, shielded behind a wall of energy. His face was expressionless, almost bored as he gazed down on everyone. He did not move from his spot, simply blocking all of the shots with ease.

Since bullets were not working, others tried alchemy. Colonel Mustang attempted his flame alchemy against the man, despite the loss of his vision. Massive amounts of uncontrollable flames sprang from his hands, flying towards Father's shield. The man turned his head towards the Colonel, still looking as calm as ever as his shield spread around his entire body. His power seemed limitless, and it was becoming clear that no one here could stop him. Al's armor had shattered earlier, in his attempt to protect Mei, and Hoenheim was too injured to stand after protecting Izumi. That left them with Ling and Ed to fight, but even they were not doing well.

When Mustang's flames dissipated, Father still stood tall, uninjured and calm as he sent an attack back at the Colonel in retaliation. It was clear that he cared little for these people around him, that they were no more than bugs to be squashed in his mindset. Hearing the warning from Hawkeye, Mustang quickly transmuted a wall of stone to protect him from the attack, but it was clear that they were making no progress here.

The bullets slowly began to stop, as soldiers ran out of ammunition to fire. Father was going to win, and no one was capable of stopping him now. This was when they made their move, seeing a desperate situation that only they could help with. Ling charged forward, grinning wildly at Father as he swung his fist at the man's face. "Well, if humans are no good, how about a homunculus?" he shouted, while Father began to smile.

The man's eye had vanished, and Ling was grimacing as his arm was slowly being absorbed into his skin. As hard as he struggled, his arm would not pull free from Father's face, even though Ling had managed to be the first to get past Father's shield. "Perfect timing, Greed. You're such a good son." Father stated, his voice pleased. "I needed a little extra Philosopher's Stone. Yours will do nicely." he insisted, sparks now shooting out from where his face was connected to Ling's arm.

Still, it was exactly how they had planned it. Ed was coming from behind Father, ready to attack as Ling began to grin wildly at Father. "Made ya look!" Ling declared triumphantly, while Father began to frown ever so slightly. "I knew you'd lower your shield for a second so you could grab me and drain my Philosopher's Stone!" Ling insisted, watching as Ed jumped into the air, his automail fist raised to slam into the back of Father's head.

It looked like their plan would work, and Ed was confident in his own strength. As his fist moved forward, towards his enemy, it collided with something else, however. A shield had been reformed, cutting off Father from Ling in order to protect him from Ed's attack. His automail fist hit the shield hard, the impact putting far too much strength on the mechanisms within. Still, Ed tried to push through, to break the shield and actually manage to hit the guy that had killed so many for something as stupid as more power. Ed was grimacing, glaring at the shield as his arm struggled with the strength of the shield. Father was far too powerful, capable of transmuting even without clapping.

Ed's eyes widened in shock as his arm shattered completely against the shield. As soon as his arm was shattered, the shield fell apart, and Ed saw his opportunity. Even if he was beaten up and incapable of using alchemy, he would not give up. He kicked out with his leg, but Father rose his arm to block the attack. Ed was flung back onto his back, sprawled out on the ground before Father. Power seemed to be leaking from the man, energy visible in the air around him as Father searched for another source of energy to keep his power in check. With his gaze on Edward, it became clear who was the target for his new stone, for the new source of his power.

Without his arm, and injured from battle, Ed was incapable of fighting back. He was leaning back against a rock, while Al watched helplessly from the sidelines. Father came closer, and all seemed lost. Al had an idea to help Ed, but he was becoming too weak. His soul was fading from the armor, not able to stay in this world any longer as he fell back, the armor now lifeless on the ground.

Father came closer to Ed, reaching out carefully towards the boy who watched with wide eyes, doing his best to get back up and fight back. The man was looking crazed, his eyes wild and desperate as he reached towards the full metal alchemist who was struggling to avoid his grip. "Get away from my friend!" a voice shouted from behind Father, making the man turn just slightly and see Ling charging forward once more.

Father scowled, grabbing Ling's arm and once again trying to absorb the stone within the homunculus. Ed was collapsed on the ground, watching helplessly as blood began to trickle down the side of his face. He felt so weak, and he couldn't move his limbs any further. All he could do was watch, his eyes slowly drooping as Ling was absorbed into Father, empowering the man further and stabilizing God's power within the homunculus. They had lost, that was something Ed was sure of. He had never felt quite so weak, and that made him frown as he completely collapsed, his body falling over onto the ground in a heap as his eyes shut. The last thing he remembered seeing was a smiling Father, standing triumphant before the army of alchemists, his power unleashing on them all, adding more souls to his collection and empowering him enough to walk away from the battle, alive and strong in the world.

* * *

Al was in a familiar place, one he had never planned on returning to until absolutely necessary. His soul had returned to his body, and he now stood before a strange being that no one truly understood. Al's body was weak itself, thin and naked in a realm of pure white, standing on what looked like nothing before Truth. His hair was long and blond, and his bones were visible bumps on his skin, but that did not stop him from frowning at the being sitting in front of a massive stone gate.

The being had no clothes and no eyes, merely a wide smile visible on his white figure. "Welcome back, I see you've got your soul inside you now." Truth declared, grinning at Al.

Al continued scowling, angry with this entire situation. "I didn't want this, I have to go back to Brother! He needs my help!" Al insisted, only to see a wide smile form on the figure before him. Al could see a single flesh arm on the being, a reminder of what his brother had lost in the battle against Father. Ed needed that arm, if he was going to win.

"Is that so? Tell me, what do you have to offer in return for such a thing?" Truth asked, holding the flesh arm out towards Al.

Al couldn't help but glance away, his hands clenched into fists at his side. He had nothing, the only thing he could have offered was now taken away from him before he had a chance to make a deal with Truth. "I….I can't. I don't know what you want from me, but….if it would save Brother, I would give you anything." Al stated eventually, unsure of what he would lose. His voice was shaking slightly, but he stood tall as he turned back towards Truth, determination deep in his eyes.

Truth folded his arm over his leg, his smile vanishing from sight as something seemed to shudder in the air. Al was distracted, his fierce expression changing into one of confusion as he saw the gate behind Truth shake and threaten to break. Cracks were visible on the surface, and Al could see small pieces of rock falling from the surface. "Well, it appears the time has come. Someone needs to stop that meddlesome being in the real world, tell me, do you think you and your brother are up to the task?" Truth asked, his arm folded over his lap as the shaking seemed to stop. Still, Al wondered if it would happen again, he had not seen anything affect this place in that way before.

"I…I don't understand. What do you want from me?" Al asked, his hand reaching towards Truth ever so slightly in desperation for an explanation.

Truth reached out in return, grasping Al's hand in his own flesh-toned arm. "It is time this world found new Guardians. After all, it isn't often that I get to meet the ones I choose in person." Truth stated, a smile on his face. "Your brother will have to weaken him in the physical world, however, if you succeed in helping me here, I shall grant your request. In return for your body and your freedom, you must join me in keeping my identity separate from the one known as Father. As you can see, his transmutation is still attempting to absorb everything within this realm and bind it to his body. This is something I cannot allow, and only with your help can I remain a separate entity from him." Truth insisted.

Al stared into the empty face of the being, wondering just what to do. His free arm was shaking slightly, his eyes wandering for a moment and turning towards his bony feet on the ground. His body was so weak, he wasn't nearly as smart as Brother was and he couldn't do much to help. Even so, he had to try. The shaking slowly began to stop in his free arm, and even with the weakness in his muscles, he felt his grip wrap around Truth's only flesh hand as he turned to meet the eyeless gaze of the creature before him. Father could not win, that was something he had to keep in mind. Images of the battle back in the real world flashed in his mind, memories that reminded Al of what might happen to the entire world if this place was completely taken over by Father. There was a fire in Al's eyes, an expression of determination usually worn by the younger Elric. Al nodded towards Truth. "Alright, tell me what we have to do.".

Truth's smile returned, a wide grin as the gate behind him began to open. "Excellent, then let us begin." he stated, shadowy hands reaching out towards both of them. Al stepped back on instinct, but Truth's grip kept him close to the being and the gate as the shadowy tendrils wrapped around both of them. Al's startled yelp echoed around them, while Truth remained as calm as ever, being dragged along with Al into the gate. "This place will fall, however, one thing will always remain. Use your alchemy, bind both of us to the Gate of Truth. Nothing can destroy it, and so long as I remain inside, my remaining power will remain beyond the reach of that meddlesome man. Once he is stopped, I will release us both and allow you to return to your world." Truth added.

Al gasped in shock, realizing what this would mean. That place had so many awful things within, filled with darkness and so much knowledge that it made his head feel like it would explode. Being in there, for any amount of time, it would be unbearable and Al wondered if he would manage to keep his sanity. Still, his expression hardened, Ed's face flashing in his mind. Brother would do it, for him. That was what made him nod, pressing his hands together as sparks danced within his grip. As the shadowy tendrils drew both of them into the gate, Al slammed his hands against them, forcing the shadowy material to bind itself to Al and Truth. Images were dancing around both of them, endless knowledge on alchemy and everything that existed in the real world. Even so, Al did his best to ignore the pressure building within him, entrapping them further within the shadows of this gate. When the transmutation was finished, Al was trapped right next to Truth, both of them holding onto each other's hands as they sat in a shadowy embrace, lost in darkness as knowledge was swarming around them. This was how they would both remain for centuries, with no knowledge of the outside world or sense of time flowing around them. Al only had one thought, one thing in mind that helped him hold on to who he was and what he wanted. "Brother…please, hurry and let me see you again."

* * *

Ed groaned as he sat up, frowning in confusion. His mind was blank, completely empty of anything as he stared up at a moonlit sky. _Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric._ Ed heard, almost like it came from inside of him rather than outside. He was lying down in what looked like nothing but rubble. The ground itself seemed to be torn up from something, rocks from the cement ground piled up in strange places. Remains of what looked like a stone wall existed to his left, making him frown and rub his head. For some reason, he had a massive headache and he couldn't remember a thing. Ed did not even know how he got here, but he felt like those words from before told him something.

Glancing down at his lap, Ed could see his arms resting there. One of them was normal, flesh-toned skin that was loosely resting on the leg of a pair of black pants. Next to it, was an arm entirely made of metal. Both limbs seemed to function the same way, the metal arm responding just like his normal arm, even if it felt a bit heavier on his shoulder. Following the limb upwards, Ed could see that it wasn't just the hand that was metal, but the entire arm as well. At the shoulder, it looked like something had been torn apart within the mechanism, the wires somewhat worn down where it now connected to the rest of the arm. Still, it flexed when he moved it and tested the range of his motion, bending at the shoulder and at the elbow with a quick response to his desire for motion.

His chest was covered with a black tank top, but for some reason, he felt like he was missing something still. He rose to his feet, sighing as he gazed around the rubble for any sign of someone that could help. As destroyed as this place was, Ed didn't feel too confident in finding anyone. He took a few steps forward, noticing that one of his legs was heavier than the other as well. He didn't even have to look down to see that one of them was metal as well, and it made him frown and try and focus on remembering anything, even a tiny detail that could give him a hint about what had happened to him.

He stopped moving, finally letting out a cry of anger into the empty air around him. His arms were thrown into the air, before he let them fall back into his hair with a glare on his face. "Aww, come on! What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I remember anything?" he demanded angrily towards the sky, his voice echoing around him. He scowled when there wasn't a response, only the silence of the wind blowing gently around him, his braid swaying behind his back in the slight breeze.

Ed let his gaze fall back down to the ground, before his entire body went still, his eyes wide as his glare vanished from his face. There were people here, he realized, he just hadn't noticed before. Beneath the rubble, sprawled out on the ground, Edward could see bodies everywhere. Blood splattered the ground in places, though some bodies seemed to have just collapsed from weakness, no sign of injury on them. A few were trapped beneath rocks, while others had fallen with weapons by their sides. Ed's hands slowly clenched into fists, shaking at his sides as he moved towards one of them, kneeling by a man's side. He had dark black hair, and was wearing a blue uniform that matched the others. Based on the medals Ed could see, he seemed to be of a higher rank than the other soldiers, but Ed had no idea how he understood that about their uniforms.

Turning the man's face towards him, Ed grimaced at the sight of a middle aged man, with his face free of wrinkles and facial hair staring emptily at Ed. Beside him, a woman lay collapsed with blond hair and another army uniform, a gun in her hand now loosely held on the ground. For reasons Ed could not fathom, he felt a deep pain in his chest over seeing these two people like this, lifeless and empty just like the rest of this army around him.

Ed reached his arm down, seeing the faded look in the man's eyes. He must have been blind when he was alive, based on the look in the man's eyes. Now, Edward couldn't help but feel rage rise within him, his shoulders shaking as he closed the man's eyelids, letting him rest in peace after the horror that must have happened in this place.

Slowly, Ed rose back to his feet, now scowling even deeper than before as he finally found a single person left alive in this place. A man was standing before him, with scraggly long blond hair around his face. His skin was incredibly pale, and it almost looked as if he was sculpted, his body thin and toned, like a work of art in a way.. "Finally, I have enough power to control this world. Still, I need more!" he declared, his arms raised to the sky.

Ed expected to see something happen, with how ominous that voice sounded, but nothing changed. Slowly, the man began to frown, his teeth showing as he clenched them together and clenched his hands into fists. "Damn it! Why can't I reach it? I killed them all, stole away the souls of everyone here to become God, and yet it is still beyond my reach!" he declared, glaring up at the sky.

Hearing that, Ed felt something harden within him, a fierce look on his face as he instinctively clapped his hands together, pressing them to the ground and creating a spear from the stone within. He would use this weapon, and end this man before him with ease. "You…you did this to them." Ed said quietly, his head turned towards the ground before he rose to his feet, the weapon in his grip. "I cannot allow you get away with this, with stealing away all of their lives for something as pointless as power!" he shouted, charging forward with the spear in hand.

The man turned towards Ed, his eyes widening fractionally as he leaned backward, dodging Ed's careless charge with ease. The young alchemist ran past the man, gritting his teeth together in irritation before stopping and using the back end of his spear instead to attack, trying to slam it against the man who frowned at Ed. "Edward Elric, I thought I killed you. It appears you are going to be more meddlesome than I first anticipated, but it a small matter to deal with." the man insisted, making Ed turn to look over his shoulder. His spear had collided with something, based on the fact that it wouldn't move any further, but that something was not the man's body. Instead, a shield of energy seemed to exist around him, blocking any attack from reaching the man behind Ed. "Still, it would be a waste of my regained energy to battle you. In the end, you are little more than an inconvenience to me, I have better things to spend my time on."

Ed glared at him, still angry over what he had heard. "Hey, get back here!" Ed shouted, watching the man turn to leave. His footsteps didn't even falter, while Ed pouted and decided to try and follow instead. "You know me, god damn it, tell me who you are, you bastard! Who the hell am I? If you know what's good for you, you better start explaining!" Ed demanded.

This time, the footsteps stopped, while the man turned back towards Ed with a small frown. His arms rested calmly at his sides, and Ed could see he hadn't even bothered with the effort of stepping to turn around, simply turning his neck and at the waste to gaze at the younger boy. "Is that so?" he asked, before smiling widely at Edward. "Then it seems I do not have to worry at all about you. Without your memories, you cannot even hope to have the strength you once held. This is farewell, Edward Elric, for if our paths cross again, your soul will be mine." he added, this time leaving Edward still as he left.

Ed stood there still, gazing up towards the sky after a few moments with his hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides. He was weak, incapable of doing anything to protect the people that lay dead around him. Rain slowly began to fall, clouds covering up the night sky as it dripped down Ed's face and soaked into his hair. Still, he did not move to leave. Instead, he remained where he was, looking determined as he stared up into the clouded, gloomy sky. He would find that man again, and make him tell Edward all about this place and his past. Edward vowed to grow stronger, to one day defeat him for all of these people here that had lost their lives for one person's dark plans.

 **This is going to be the first new story of many that I am posting between tonight and tomorrow. I've run out of steam on a lot of my ideas, and rather than just starting a hundred stories that I'll never finish, I decided to start posting what I have and ask readers for suggestions on the path to take for these stories. Since I've run out of steam on a lot of these, I do not guarantee writing it to its conclusion, but feedback will help improve the odds of my coming up with a real ending. In addition, I am considering putting a poll up on my profile to see requests for which story to make my main focus. Currently, it is Karma of Contradictions, but if enough people prefer something else, that may change. For now, feel free to review and tell me what you think thus far!**


	2. Jack Frost

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Rise of the Guardians

 _Many years later_

Edward sighed, running a hand through his hair as he walked about a small town in America. His past few years had been spent in a forced isolation of sorts, unseen by others for reasons he could not understand. The man from before remained out of sight the entire time, and all that was left to keep Ed company was the moon in the sky, and the man that lived somewhere up there. Edward wasn't sure why, but he felt confident that a being existed there somewhere, or at least, in another realm watching over them. Even if it wasn't god, it was a powerful person that obeyed the same laws Ed followed. It gave gifts to people so long as they were willing to pay an equivalent price, at least, that was how Ed viewed the world.

Ed took a few steps forward, seeing snow falling from the sky. It was a bit late in the season for this kind of weather, but Ed wasn't too surprised. After all, Burgess was a bit further north than most towns. It wasn't too unreasonable for snow to fall in the early spring, even if it was a bit cold for the alchemist walking down the street. His back was covered in a long red coat, thankfully, something he had created almost immediately after his encounter with the blond man from before.

Edward didn't even know what he was doing here anymore, stopping at a building as he walked by. It was made of brick, dark brown in color with white lettering attached to the walls of the side. The letters spelled out Burgess Public Library, barely visible from the street where cars were scarce due to the weather. Cracks were visible in the bricks of the wall, showing the age of the building as some of them began to deteriorate from the abuse of weather over the years. Still, it did not stop Ed from reaching his flesh arm out towards the glass door, the palm of his hand covered by a clean white glove as he pressed the door open and walked within.

Inside, the modern library wasn't all that different from the ones Ed had found when he first came to. Tall shelves were visible straight ahead, organized by category and then by author within each category. Signs were hung from the ceiling, indicating where each category existed, some of them reading non-fiction, another young adult fantasy, and further off in the distance, Ed could see a sign advertising the children's section of the library. Directly to his left, a desk was placed for the checkout of books, with a middle-aged librarian posted within. She wore plain black glasses, square shaped and resting on the bridge of her nose as she focused on looking over something on her computer screen on the desk. Her dress was business casual, a white blouse covered with a black blazer and a short black skirt just barely visible with the height of the desk she was seated at.

Ed got to work immediately, ignoring the woman who wouldn't even hear a thing as he riffled through the shelves. Over the years, books on alchemy had become almost non-existent, slowly moving from the non-fiction section of libraries and into those that claimed to be about fantasy and fiction for various ages. While some remained in non-fiction, claiming to be a part of history, Ed really didn't have any specific place in mind to search for the books he needed. After all, if he wanted to get his memories back, he needed to find something brilliant within the art to help heal his mind. Something must have gone wrong with the neural pathways in his brain, at least, that was what Ed was thinking as he pulled down another book from a shelf. He was standing in the young adult fantasy section, hoping that there was at least something that could be true alchemy contained in this town unlike all of the others.

Ed didn't even know if alchemy could fix this, since it came far too close to human transmutation. The very thought of attempting such a thing made Ed feel as if a rock had dropped into his stomach, a slight queasiness at the thought of doing such a thing. At the same time, the hair on the back of his neck would rise, and his hands would start to shake uncontrollably. Ed couldn't deny it at all, he was absolutely terrified of human transmutation, and it irritated him to no end.

With a scowl, Ed slammed the book he was reading shut, irritated as the pages told some story about a fake alchemist looking for something called the elixir of life. None of these books seemed to understand the true concept of alchemy, that you couldn't get something without sacrificing something of equal value in return.

Ed dropped the book carelessly on the floor, not too concerned about the mess. His gaze was already scanning the shelves for another title, something that just might be what he was looking for. _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone._ Ed read, making him feel a slight amount of anticipation. This was something, possibly the key to what he had been looking for. That stone, it existed within alchemy and it contained immense power within. Picking up the book, Ed eagerly began to scan the pages, a huge grin on his face as he started reading.

Edward only managed to get one chapter into the book before his smile vanished, throwing the book into the shelf across from him. "Damn it! How the hell is this even related to alchemy? Does this J.K. person even know what a Philosopher's Stone is?" Ed demanded, leaning back against the bookshelf as he sat down on the ground, his legs straightened out in front of him. Books were scattered along the aisles, a sign of his time rampaging through random books during the time he had spent here. Others had fallen when he got angry and began throwing things, mainly the pointless books that left him with no answers. He had spent years searching for this, years with no answer as to what he was or where he came from. If he didn't know any better, Ed would have thought he was a walking corpse. Still, alchemy couldn't bring the dead back to life, nothing could pay for the human soul when it could not be given a value in terms of science and the elements that existed in reality.

Edward frowned, running a hand through his long hair as he wondered what to do next. He left his hand sitting on his head as he gazed upward, staring at the lights on the white ceiling of the library. A few people walked inside, the doors making a small noise off to the side as Edward did his best to ignore them all and just think. A child laughed from the family that had just walked in, eager to find a new adventure to explore within the books of the library. Ed remained where he was, his only reaction coming when the young girl ran over him, her feet actually moving through his body rather than over it. The action left Ed's legs feeling strangely cold, almost hollow in a way as his head turned downward, his gaze dropping to them as he wondered once again if he truly existed in this world. When no one ever saw him or spoke to him, it was easy for Ed to feel like he was nothing at all, like he was just a small speck of dust in the way of everyone here.

Ed cringed at the thought, scowling as he stood up. "Damn it, I just called myself short! There's no way I'm shorter than the tiniest speck of dust in the air, I'm gonna go prove it!" he shouted, charging out from the aisles towards the parents of the girl. They were following calmly behind her, but much to Ed's disappointment and embarrassment, he ran directly through them as well. His momentum continued carrying him further forward, this time into the door of the library where Ed smacked into the glass, stopping suddenly with the barrier in his way. "Ouch….come on, why?" Ed asked, stepping back and rubbing his forehead with a look of sadness on his face. His gaze flickered back towards the family one last time, a sigh escaping his lips as he decided it wasn't worth the effort.

Pushing open the doors one last time, Ed moved back into the outside world. There wasn't anything for him here, and it was too painful to have a constant reminder of how invisible he was to the world standing right next to him. Ed shoved his hands into his pockets, walking along the sidewalk of the street when he heard a shout coming from in front of him. "Look out!" a male voice yelled, making Ed glance upward to see an incredibly pale boy flying through the air. His hair was pure white, and he wore a dark blue hoodie as he gripped a wooden staff. Ed's eyes were already wide in shock at the sight of anyone flying, an impossibility based on everything Ed understood about the world, when he saw the icy path forming beneath the boy. A child, much younger than the flying guy, was on the ground, laughing as he skidded across the ice on a sled, taking turns and curves at speeds that weren't usually possibly on a flat surface of this nature.

Ed quickly moved to flatten himself against the wall of a nearby building, watching as the boy flew past with the kid following shortly after, a crowd of more children running towards the kid calling out his name. "What the hell?" Ed demanded, staring after them for a few moments before joining the chase. He was still lost on what was going on, but his wide-eyed state of shock had faded and transformed into a determined grin. There was no way he was letting this kid get away from him, not when it was the first thing he had seen that looked even remotely similar to alchemy.

Edward found that he had much more speed than the other children, his body not even growing tired as he ran. While some of the kids were breathing hard, far behind the kid they called Jaimie, Ed was not even breaking a sweat, catching up and even surpassing them as he followed the icy path created by the flying freak from before. It made it easy to follow them, though Ed didn't know exactly what he would do once he found them. It wasn't like they would be able to hear his voice, but it never hurt to try.

Ed arrived just in time to see the flying guy send Jaimie into the air, laughing as he went flying off of a ramp made of ice and into a snowbank nearby. Everything seemed like it was turning out okay, until a sofa slid across the ice and slammed into the kid knocking him over and leaving him somewhat dazed. "Whoops." the white haired boy said, smiling even though he had winced slightly at the boy's pain.

Jaimie didn't seem to mind though, quickly recovering and showing off his fallen tooth to his friends. "Yeah, yeah, you lost a tooth. Who the hell cares? Some of us have some bigger issues to deal with kid, so get out of here." Ed commented, scowling at the kid nearby. The pale boy looked a bit confused at Ed's presence, frowning slightly as he swung his wooden staff over his shoulder, stepping closer as he walked across the ground. At first, his mouth had been open to say something to the kids, but now he seemed focused on the alchemist in front of him.

Their gazes met, both of them staring at each other as the children moved to return home, running directly through the guy that had been flying before Edward. Ed could see that this affected the other boy more than him, with the way his smile vanished and his arm wrapped around his stomach as if he were in pain to some extent. Ed managed to stay still as they passed through his body, though it did not stop him from clenching his flesh hand into a fist as they treated him as if he didn't even exist.

The other boy's eyes widened at the sight however, his hand falling from his stomach as he stared at Edward receiving the same treatment as him. Ed had a hunch that this would be the case, but he never expected the guy to react like this. "No way….you're…like me? Another spirit?" he asked, walking closer with his arm outstretched. "I thought I'd met all the others. Are you going to yell at me too for making it snow? Gonna go get Bunny to chase me down for the blizzard too close to Easter?" he asked, his staff swung behind his neck, blanking over his shoulders.

Ed crossed his arms over his chest, giving the guy a slight smirk as he finally found someone to talk to. "Like I care about your little stunts. I've been looking everywhere for some kind of an answer, and now, I've finally found at least something. So, tell me, who the hell are you and how the heck did you do that crap with the ice?" Ed demanded.

The boy blinked in surprise, before grinning in return towards Ed, letting his staff fall back to his side, gripped between his arm and body. "Jack Frost, and as far as the ice goes….well, that is just me, I guess." he commented, holding out his hand in the air. Ed frowned, watching it as he created a snowflake in his palm, letting it dance across the air towards Ed.

Fullmetal swatted it away with his automail arm, not interested in tricks like that. "Wait, just you? So, no transmutation, no alchemy involved? Where's the action of pulling out the moisture from the air, altering it to a frozen state in order to create the ice? How the hell is any of that an equivalent exchange?" Ed demanded, stepping closer to Jack with each question. His gaze was turned upwards, his head only reaching up to the bottom of Jack's chest, forcing the winter spirit to look downwards to meet Ed's golden gaze.

"Huh? Sorry, you lost me there. I'm into snowballs and fun times, I'm not all that worried over details like that." Jack insisted, forming a snowball in his hand just as described.

Ed glared at him, shoving the snowball away from the man's grip in irritation. "Knock it off, I'm trying to get some answers, you bastard!" Ed declared, watching the guy's smile fade briefly, his eyes somewhat wide at Ed's words.

In only a few more seconds, he was laughing, smiling at Ed's words. "Man, you've got some language there, kid." Jack commented, while Ed scowled at his words.

It took a moment to register with him, but slowly Ed's scowl deepened even further, his hands clenched into fists as he pounded one against Jack's chest in anger. "Who are you calling shorter than a child, you flying freak?" Ed demanded in his anger, watching as the boy actually flew into the air to avoid Ed's angry fists.

Jack held his hands up in surrender, landing back down even though Ed's frown didn't fade. The alchemist had his hands thrust back into his pockets, gazing away from Jack towards the town. "Look, I just need some answers. I've been looking for answers for years, for a way to get my memories back." Ed stated at last, breaking the silence between them.

Jack's eyes widened ever so slightly, but beyond that he did not reply. Instead, the winter spirit glanced away from Ed, who turned to watch the boy's reaction. "So, he doesn't talk to you either, huh?" Jack commented, making Ed frown. Jack put his free hand into the pocket of his hoodie, shaking his head with a sigh. "I guess that is the same for both of us. Either way, I can't help you out there, I've got my own problems to deal with."

Edward stared at the icy blue eyes of the boy, who was moving to walk away. There was a darker look in Jack's eyes, a look that made him seem far older than he first appeared to be. Ed nodded once, no longer frowning at the boy for his comment earlier. "Good luck, then. Tell you what, if you ever feel like you have the time to help out, come find me. The name's Edward Elric, and I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist." Ed stated, giving Jack a grin. The winter spirit nodded, giving Ed a carefree smile as he hovered in the air for a moment, waving before flying off towards the distance. That boy was strange, but Edward smiled at the sight of him leaving. Perhaps there was hope for the future yet, if magic like his was possible maybe Ed could find his memories as well.

 **I've gotten another chapter ready! Reviews are still welcome, for anyone wishing to inspire me to continue on!**


	3. Nightmares Rise

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Rise of the Guardians or Fullmetal Alchemist

The North Pole was a busy place at any time of the year, especially with the way North never stopped working towards Christmas. Elves were hustling about, smiling happily as they did their best to please their boss. Yetis were hard at work, painting toys at various desks within, actually possessing the intelligence needed for more sophisticated tasks. Even with the Guardians all gathered inside, there was work to be done and it could not stop all at once.

In the center of the room, they all stood gathered. North had called them all here, aware that the shadows he had seen at the Pole before could only have come from one person. Still, it did not stop a certain Guardian from getting irritated over the trip out into the cold weather.

"Hang on, hang on! You mean to tell me, you summoned me here three days before Easter, because of your belly? Mate, if I did this to you before Chirstmas—" Bunny was saying, stepping closer to the large, heavy-set Russian man with his arms raised ever so slightly.

North only laughed it off, smiling at Bunny with a slight shake of his head as he moved along in the shop. This argument happened almost every time he summoned Bunny, or at least in a similar manner. The Guardian of Hope could not withstand the cold weather, thus he constantly came up with excuses to avoid trips to this place.

Their argument continued, while Sandy stood in the background, a scowl on his face as they kept bickering back and forth about their holidays. A light was shining down in the room, brightly lighting up the floor from the sky light placed for the purpose of communicating with the one who chose them all. Sandy was doing his best to get their attention, but as it was, images weren't going to do much to get them to notice.

He still kept trying, though, showing them an image of a moon above his head only for them to brush him aside, too focused on each other to really look at Sandy's attempt at communicating. Tooth was busy working, thus his attempt at getting her help was ignored as well. As he heard the noise continue on, Sandy's scowl deepened even further. An elf walking by happened to fall victim to the Sandman's anger, the golden man picking up the creature and shaking it quite violently simply to get the sound out of the bell on the creature's outfit.

All of the Guardians turned to look at the Sandman, who was frowning as he created his images once more. He showed them the image of the moon, before creating an arrow and pointing to the center of the room where the moonlight is shining down. "Ah, Man in Moon! Sandy, why didn't you say something?" North asked, this time making Sandy have to let off just a little steam in the form of sand clouds coming out of his ears.

Still, they all gathered around to see what message was coming for them, something big happening as the light shined down before them. A shadow formed in the moonlight, a silhouette they all knew quite well. "It is Pitch…" Bunny commented, watching as the shadow changed, something else visible in the image. It was nothing more than a shadow still, but all of them were frowning and trying to decipher how a human form could be any type of threat to them. The only discernible features of the shadow were the long, straight hair, and the masculine shape of the upper body.

"Who is that?" North questioned, while Sandy shrugged. Tooth fluttered around nervously, while Bunny crowded in with a frown on his face, studying the figure closely.

Bunny sniffed the air ever so slightly, his ears turned downward at the sight. "I don't know, Mate, but I've got a bad feeling about this one." he commented. North could only nod in agreement, his hand over his belly as he turned towards the sky.

"What must we do?" North asked, looking for guidance. It had been quite a long time since Manny had spoken, something all of them were aware of, his messages coming infrequently over the last few centuries. Still, when needed and in times of crisis, they could always count on Manny to help.

On the floor, a pedestal rose from an opening holding a blue crystal on top, standing in the center of the four Guardians. All of them stepped closer, a huge smile on Tooth's face as she stared into the light of the crystal. "Uh, guys, do you know what this means?" she said, eagerness in her voice.

North's eyes were wide, his smile not quite as prominent as he joined them. "He's choosing a new Guardian…." he commented.

Sandy and Bunny shared a look, neither of them speaking up. Both of them were worried about this second figure, the new enemy none of them had yet to face, an enemy that would explain the need for this new Guardian. However, none of them were prepared for what happened next. Sure, Tooth had begun listing off a few potential Guardians, while Sandy joined in, creating images above his head to symbolize the other spirits of the world. Bunny just continually preyed for anyone but the groundhog, while North awaited an answer.

The light above the crystal slowly takes form, revealing not one, but three individuals. One was well known to all of the Guardians, a figure known for nothing but trouble in the real world. He wore a blue hoodie over his white hair and carried a wooden staff, the signature look of Jack Frost. "I take it back, the Groundhog's fine." Bunny said in response to this figure.

Next to him was a much shorter individual, this one dressed in a dark red coat draped loosely over a black shirt and black pants. Boots covered his feet and white gloves covered his hands, but the most noticeable feature beyond the coat was his golden yellow eyes, that seemed to match his long braided hair in color.

Sandy pulled North's sleeve down, a frown on his face as he pointed to the man, a question mark hovering above his head. "I do not know, I have not met this spirit before." North replied, stroking his beard in confusion. Next to him was a boy that looked similar, but somewhat startling to see nonetheless. A scrawny, bony boy, with unkempt blond hair framing his face stood next to the other boy. Both of them had the same golden eyes, though only one appeared to be actually ready for any kind of battle.

"Manny expects us to fight, with this? We get a troublemaker, a bony weakling, and whoever the bloody hell this kid is?" Bunny demanded, gesturing to each of the figures.

Tooth hovered around them nervously, her hands in front of her as she studied them herself. "Well, so long as they help the children…." she began, trailing off ever so slightly.

"Jack Frost is good choice, however, I do not know of the others. Tooth, do you remember these boys yourself?" North asked, watching the fairy shake her head.

"See, this is causing problems already! I say we just leave these rascals alone and deal with Pitch on our own. Who cares if he has an ally this time? We'll still be plenty strong enough to handle anything they can throw at us." Bunny insisted, standing taller while North shook his head. Sandy frowned, glancing at Bunny by North's side.

"Manny says we need help, and that is what we must do. Get ready to welcome others, we have work to do." North declared, smiling at the others around him. Sandy nodded in agreement, glancing towards him with a snowflake hovering above his head, the question in his gaze. "That is right, first, we find Jack Frost. Then, we find the others. We are gaining our new Guardians, and hoping they can shed some light on this new enemy we now face."

* * * * LINE BREAK * * * * *

Edward was smiling as he walked down the streets, his arms lightly swinging by his sides as he stared up at the night sky. Golden sand danced across the starlit night in streams, flowing towards homes everywhere just like it always did. Usually, Ed would just walk past the sight of the glowing, almost magical sand that he saw, but tonight was different. Ed stopped at the sight of the golden sand, seeing one that was somewhat lower to the ground than usual, reaching up his left arm to run it across the surface of the sand.

He had expected it to be like sand, to fall apart and crumble in his grip, but Ed's smile widened further as he realized this was not the case. The surface was smooth, solid in a way yet moldable, reminding him of clay to some extent. As his hand ran through it, a piece of the stream broke off, making Ed's eyes widen as he took a step back, pulling his arm away as his smile vanished. His eyes flickered around nervously, before focusing back on the thing that had formed from the stream of sand.

Snowflakes danced around in the air, golden and bright as they flew around Edward's face through the night. They reminded him of Jack Frost, the spirit he had just met and the first person he had talked to in so long. That made his smile return, grabbing one and holding it in the palm of his hand, before closing it into a fist, staring forward into the depths of the street. Footsteps were echoing faintly on the sidewalk in front of him, strange for this time of night. The light illuminating the street came solely from the moon up above, and the golden sand streaming in the air.

Ed took a few steps forward, moving as silently as possible towards the source of the noise. As the faint footfalls grew louder, Ed knew he was going in the right direction. Ed turned left down another street, taking him this time deeper into the residential area of Burgess. This was where those kids lived, Ed realized. He had passed through here on his way to the library earlier today, seeing them starting a snowball fight in someone's yard.

Ed stared down the street, his expression calm as his eyes grew alert in the night, searching for the source of the noise. Something was out here, there was no doubt about that in his mind. A streetlight was visible in the distance, shedding at least a little bit more light out here, but not much. Still, it was enough for Edward to see the lone figure standing in the street, gazing upward towards a nearby house. It was a man, and when Ed spotted him, his eyes went wide, his mouth opening ever so slightly in surprise.

It did not take long for his open mouth to slam shut, grimacing as his hands clenched into fists, his feet now pounding on the ground as he no longer cared about sneaking around the streets. He charged closer to that man, the one with long blond hair that looked a lot like his own, watching as he calmly turned towards Edward, stopping the alchemist's attack with one swift motion. His arm moved, lifting from his side grabbing Ed's outstretched fist, stopping the punch Ed had been launching against him.

Edward was not done, moving to kick the man instead when the punch had failed. However, he had not planned on the man's swift shove, causing Ed to topple over from his balance on one leg, his other one having been lifted in the air for the attack. "It seems you never learn, Edward Elric. It has been quite some time," the man stated, glancing back towards the house.

It was right next door to Jaimie's house, the kid whose yard the others were playing in earlier. No lights were on in this home, a sign of the sleeping inhabitants inside. "I do not have the time nor do I have the energy to waste on fighting you. After all, it seems as if I may have finally found the power I needed to truly become God," he insisted with a smile, glancing up at the house once more.

Ed had no idea what he was talking about, sitting up and brushing some of the dirt off of the sleeves of his coat as he glared at the man. "What the hell is that about? Come on, it's been centuries. Are you seriously claiming you still want the power of a God? It doesn't exist, and even if it does, it isn't yours to take," Ed insisted, watching as the man shook his head, his focus not moving from the building before them.

"Yes, indeed there are men who fly too close to the sun, and find themselves burned and falling back towards the ground. I am not like them, however. I was born for this great power," the man insisted. "In a way, you could say I'm your father, Edward, if you wish to know. I may not have given birth to you, but my image is crafted from that of the man who was your sire," he added with a smirk.

Ed stood up, glaring at him as he sent his right fist flying towards Father, or whatever his real name was. Without anything else to call him, Ed had no choice but to use that noun to describe him. "Shut up with your lies, you crazy bastard! I don't care about these stupid riddles of yours. I want to know what the hell you plan on doing with these people! Damn it, I'm not going to just sit back and let you kill more innocent people!"

Father stopped his fist once more, scowling with irritation as he shoved Ed back once more. "I've had enough of your interference, Fullmetal. If you wish to perish with them, I will gladly use your soul along with theirs for my plans," he insisted, stepping closer to Ed.

Edward's eyes narrowed, quickly clapping his hands together and slamming them against the ground. Rocks rose from the dirt, molding into the shape of a massive hand that reached out towards Father, attempting to grab the man and hold him still. Father turned towards it, standing tall with his arms at his sides as a blast of energy burst from him, shattering the rock in an instant. "Pointless tricks, all of it is useless before a God," he insisted.

Ed glanced around, searching for something else to use instead. Rock would not work against this man, who could create blasts of energy with his mind and impenetrable shields in an instant. Still, the grass was not a weapon and dirt could hardly be shaped into anything worth fighting with. Father's steps came closer, leaving the man standing directly above where Ed remained kneeling on the ground, his hands pressed flat against the grass as he turned his gaze upward, frowning with sweat beginning to form on his skin.

Father moved to slam his fist down on Ed, but the alchemist quickly flattened himself to the ground, rolling over to avoid the blow. Jumping back up to his feet, Ed decided he only had one thing to use right now. Ed pulled the white gloves off of his hands, his gaze focused on Father who was rising back up to his feet, frowning over at Edward. Clapping his hands together, Ed pressed his palm to his automail arm, forming a blade from some of the excess material within. It was small and it would mean a fist fight, but it was better than nothing.

Father came a little closer, a smile on his face as he stood across from Ed, leaving a small distance between the two of them when he stopped. "As I stated before, I have little time for you. My goal is something much larger than you can even imagine, and in order to achieve it, I must preserve my energy," he insisted, while Ed scowled in irritation.

"Shut up with that already! Who cares about what you want? I'm just trying to get some answers, you ugly bastard!" Ed insisted, watching as the man sighed, shaking his head.

"A pointless endeavor, one that will do you no good," Father insisted. Edward's eyes seemed to light with a fire deep in them as he started to take a step forward, only to stop with a look of shock at the sound of a loud whinny. People didn't ride horses around here. There weren't even any farms nearby that would allow one to get to this place. It made Ed's gaze flicker around, only to stare with wide eyes into the night sky. Just barely visible in the dim light, was a pitch black horse flying off towards the town, emerging from the window of the home before him.

Ed gave Father one last glance, seeing the man smiling at the creature. With a scowl, Ed pushed past the man and into the house, determined to see just what was responsible for such a thing. He ignored the adults getting up, walking downstairs and rubbing their eyes with frowns on their faces, looking at the open door and suddenly becoming alert. He walked through them, using his invisibility to his advantage to charge upstairs without interruption and arrive in the room closest to the window Ed had seen before.

It was dark in the room, but even so, Ed could see to some extent. The walls were painted pale pink, with darker pink curtains covering one of the two windows in the room. Directly in front of him was a twin sized bed, holding a young girl curled up on her side, clutching a stuffed horse tightly to her chest. Next to her was a desk with a lamp, the light turned off, but Ed's focus was on the terror he could see in her sleeping face. The girl's eyes were squeezed tightly shut, her mouth frowning as she actually began to mumble somewhat in her sleep, things that he was incapable of truly understanding as she rolled over restlessly.

Ed knelt down next to her, his eyes softening at the sight of the girl as he sighed, running a hand through his hair. Glancing over, he reached out towards the light, before stopping just inches away from the switch. He frowned, glancing back at the girl before shaking his head, closing his hand into a fist and letting it drop to his side. Turning the light on might make this worse, especially for a kid who might believe in something silly like ghosts. Glancing over to the girl, seeing her short brown hair tangled up from all of her tossing and turning, Ed simply smiled at her sadly. He reached over with his real hand, grabbing the blanket that had fallen down in her sleep. Gently, he pulled it back up, covering her shoulders and letting her at least stay warm despite the fear in her eyes.

"What do we have here? Perhaps this is the source of that fear I sensed earlier, the fear of the adults that are not so easily scared," a dark voice mused, making Ed jump back in alarm. His eyes went wide, his arms raised to fight as he glanced around the room warily. Still, he didn't move away from the child's bed, staying close as he searched for the source of the voice. It did not take him long to see the man standing by the window, just on the other side of the bed. His hair was black and spiky, and while his body was turned towards the window, his head was focused on Ed. His skin was deathly pale, taking on a grayish color, and he was dressed in nothing but a long black robe. The only sign of color on his face was his burning yellow eyes, eyes that were a few shades lighter than Ed's eyes.

"Who the hell are you? What did you do to this girl?" Edward demanded, moving slowly towards the other side of the bed, to put himself between the dark man and the kid behind him.

The man's eyes widened somewhat, his expression looking far too innocent for the situation Ed had found here. "So, you can see me? I suppose that makes this even better," he claimed, smiling over at Edward. "As for the child, I only added the missing element of her life, the oh so important touch of fear," he claimed. "You see, that is my job, after all. You should know, after all. It has been quite some time since I met anyone who still believed in me, in the boogeyman. However, I will allow you to call me by my proper name, the one that inspires far more fear than any other, Pitch Black." As he spoke, Pitch's arms moved to fold themselves behind his back, leaving his position by the window to stand closer to Edward in the room.

Ed's gaze narrowed at this man, not enjoying his theatrics. His arms crossed over his chest, frowning as he looked up at Pitch and studied the man's face. "Sorry, I'm not seeing it." Ed said after a few moments, watching the man's smile vanish instantly. Pitch crouched down near Ed, his face leaning towards Edward's own as his yellow eyes stared deeply into the alchemist's golden ones.

"Is that so?" Pitch asked, his voice holding a threatening undertone. "Well, it seems there is more to you than meets the eye. You aren't a normal boy, are you?" he asked, making Ed frown. He didn't reply, simply holding Pitch's gaze with his own before the dark man began to smile, chuckling softly. "So, this is your plan. I didn't even realize you had chosen another spirit, old friend. Well, tell me then, do you plan on aiding the being that abandoned you after granting you these powers? Or will you remain a neutral party in this fight?" Pitch asked, standing up straight once more and leaning back as he studied Ed.

Ed hesitated, his gaze turning towards the open window where he could still see a small hint of the moon even from this angle, shining its light into the room. His eyes held a longing in them, an unspoken desire of something he had no hope of achieving without effort. "I fight for myself. If you get in my way, I won't hesitate to stop you," Ed insisted, glaring at the man.

"Oh, such willful tendencies, in one so young. Still, do you have the strength to back up those words?" Pitch asked, while Ed only scowled in annoyance. Glancing back at the kid, Ed shook his head and sat down by her side, ignoring the man for now as he watched her whine again, her head burying itself into the pillow by her head. "Regardless, we will meet again, young man. I look forward to testing your strength for myself," Pitch added, his voice fading away into the distance. Glancing back, Ed's eyes went wide as he found nothing but an empty room behind him, with an open window and shadows dancing around the room in the moonlight.

 **Sorry for the long wait everyone! Classes have kept me busy, but I do have plans to update quite a few stories this week. Depending on how things go, I may be adding yet another new crossover too. I keep struggling with directing my inspiration towards completing the ones I've already started...and instead, I ended up starting a new one. Well, for now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!**


	4. Memory

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Rise of the Guardians or Fullmetal Alchemist

Edward was in that room for quite some time. He lost track of how long he spent, just watching this girl sleep, frowning as he focused on her. For a kid, she was a bit big, almost the same size as Edward. He could tell that even with her body hidden under the covers, still curled up to protect herself from whatever image she was seeing in her nightmare. The fluffy pink covers were draped over her body, keeping her warm, and every time they rolled down, Ed would pick them back up and tuck the girl back in.

Something about her, seeing a girl so young, pulled at something in his head. He felt like he knew a little girl, once, but he couldn't really say how or when. All he knew was that a deep sadness settled in him every time he looked at Cupcake, unable to place the feeling with a memory.

Ed sighed, glancing out towards the window, seeing a stream of golden sand dart by the home. He still didn't understand what purpose that sand held, but something about it made Edward fantasize about his future, and think about all the possibilities it held. He watched the sand stream into the room with him, making him frown as it circled around the girl by his side, gently falling onto her face as Ed rose to his feet. He quickly moved to try and brush the stuff away, knowing it must be irritating to have sand in your eyes, only to stare in surprise at the shape forming. Above the girl's head, a horse was now galloping freely, reminding Edward of the sand snowflakes he had seen earlier. The girl's expression calmed down, her frown fading as a smile settled on her sleeping face, her tension leaving her shoulders as her breathing evened out.

Ed was so absorbed in watching the transformation of this girl, he hadn't noticed the entrance of a short man behind him, flying in on a cloud of sand and jumping off. Sandy walked towards Edward, a huge grin on his face as he tapped the man's arm, getting his attention. Ed glanced over, frowning slightly as he saw the man that was shorter than him, his head reaching to Edward's shoulders as Sandy grinned at him. The only word that came to mind when Ed saw the guy was gold, because that was the only color that existed on the round man. Golden robes of sand, spiky golden hair, gold skin, and gold eyes all stood before him, reminding Edward of his eyes this time, unlike the creepy man from before.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want? Don't tell me you're with the other guy from before." Ed stated, watching as the man frowned, a question mark forming above his head in the golden sand Ed had seen around the house. When Ed didn't reply, the guy created an image of a man above his head, before repeating the question mark above his head.

Ed continued blinking at him, watching as the guy's smile faded somewhat. He appeared to take in a deep breath, but Edward could not hear a single sound from the action. Another image formed again, this time an arrow pointing towards Ed. This was followed by an image of the moon, some strange looking book, a crystal, and so many others, coming more and more rapidly than before. They meshed together, each image becoming indistinguishable from the one before it, and that just left Ed with a headache as he dragged his hands through the sand above the guy's head, brushing all of it away. "Enough of this crap, just tell me what you want!" Ed demanded, watching the short guy frown, a slight crease in his brow as the other man got irritated in return.

The guy pointed towards Ed with his hand, then gestured towards the open window. "You want me to leave?" Ed stated, frowning as the man glared at him, his hands in fists as he shook his head back and forth. Sand seemed to fall from his hair as he did so, reminding Edward of the sand that he saw outside. He was a man of sand, and thusly, from that point on Ed decided that would be his nickname, since he refused to give one. Sandman, it seemed rather fitting for the young guy.

Sandman tried again, pointing at Ed, then at himself, then towards the window. "We both need to leave?" Ed stated, watching as the guy actually created steam out of sand to blow out of his ears. It was interesting to watch, but at that point, Ed realized just how angry the guy was. He felt the short man grab Ed's arm, pulling him along after Sandman and dragging him towards the window. "Hey, let go of me! Come on, you little—" Ed was saying, just as he let out a shriek when Sandman jumped out the window, dragging Edward with him.

Ed expected them to splatter on the ground, his body braced for collision as his eyes closed. He felt Sandy's grip tighten on Ed's wrist, but that did not help lessen his fear as he felt something underneath him, coming much sooner than he had expected. Then again, the room they had been in wasn't that far away from the ground, so it wasn't all that surprising. What was surprising was the lack of pain, the sensation of falling into a cloud that molded to the shape of Ed's legs, letting them rest gently on the surface and absorbing the excess energy from his motion. When the alchemist opened his eyes, they were wide at the sight of a massive cloud of sand, floating in the air with him on it, right next to Sandman.

The guy didn't try doing anything else to talk as they flew, and Ed was kind of glad. He felt bad for not understanding before, especially now that it seemed like he couldn't talk at all. Glancing over the edge of the cloud, Ed debated if he would survive the fall from this height. As he did so, taking a deep breath to steady himself, he felt something wrap around his waist and pull him back to the center of the cloud, right next to Sandman who wore a frown on his face, his arms crossed over his chest with a golden whip in his hand.

Ed scowled in response, huffing as he sat down in the sand and settled in for the ride. This form of travel was even stranger than Jack's way of flying. Not only did it make people fly, it was creating something that shouldn't even exist. Touching the sand, Ed once again marveled at how smooth it was, how moldable it felt underneath his palm. If only he understood its components, he felt as if it would be perfect for alchemical transmutation. Maybe it would even hold the key to finding his memories, with the way it created images related to thoughts when someone interacted with it.

He was frowning on the flight, still focused on the sand as Sandman directed their path north. Ed was still trying to determine the main elements that created this sand beneath him when it vanished from sight, dropping him onto a snowbank below. He had been so absorbed in his task that he hadn't realized the change in weather, from nice spring warmth to freezing winter. Sandman had taken him much further north than Edward had realized, and now, he was standing in a strong blizzard, surrounded by nothing but powdery white snow, right in front of a small building that looked rather insane in the snowy landscape. No one would live out here, yet someone had built a sturdy home out of wood, with a sign just out front that couldn't be read with all the snow piled up over it.

Glaring at Sandman for the sudden fall, Ed got back up, brushing snow off of his pants and coat before moving towards the door. "Man, this place is freezing. Who the hell is crazy enough to live out here?" Ed asked, stumbling forward as Sandy pushed him forward, a slight hint to get inside.

Stepping inside, Edward could see what looked like a small celebration halted. A large group of strange creatures huddled around others, only one of them familiar in the crowd here. Jack Frost was walking around carelessly, swinging his staff around with an expression of mixed amusement and irritation. Elves were storming off by Ed, moving deeper into this huge place, while Edward's jaw dropped as he saw exactly what else was here. A massive bunny, standing on two legs with his arms over his chest stood next to a human man, with a crowd of large hairy creatures behind them. Next to them was another creature, a girl perhaps, with wings and colorful feathers, mostly in shades of green and blue with a few yellows and purples mixed in.

Jack was staring at the others, shaking his head. "You're all hard work and deadlines, and I'm snowballs and fun times. I'm not a Guardian." he was saying, while Edward slowly shook his head, glancing over at the short man by his side.

"You have got to be kidding me! All of this time, and there were a ton of you guys out there?" Ed demanded, watching the short man shrug as the others turned towards him during his outburst. Ed's arms had been thrown into the air in his irritation, and now he let them fall, tightly pressed against his sides. "So, with this many of you, how the hell has the world not noticed any of us?" Ed asked, watching the others blink at him in surprise.

"Wait, is this supposed to be the other Guardian?" the bunny asked, pointing at Ed. The alchemist scowled, unsure of what to make of the title.

North shrugged, stepping forward with a grin at the kid. "Ah, it would seem so. Welcome, young spirit, and be glad, for now, you are Guardian!" he declared, emphasizing his point by thrusting his hand into the air. Music started playing around Ed and he frowned, stumbling back and tripping over the elves who cheerfully ran in circles around him.

Jack stepped forward, frowning at the return of the music as he came closer to Ed. Elves once more brought shoes towards the winter spirit, however, this time one of them seemed rather angry, throwing them at the guy instead of just offering them to him. The same elf stuck his tongue out at Jack before smiling over at Edward, dancing around once more. Flying little fairies came as well, bringing some kind of flower necklace towards Ed which he glared at, snatching away from them and ripping it to shreds before they could get anywhere near his head with the thing.

When the chaos got to be too much, Ed finally decided it was time to end it all. He clapped his hands together, slamming them into the ground and forcing the rocks underneath this home to move, shaking against each other and causing a minor earthquake. The elves stumbled in the room, falling over and dropping their instruments. Bunny and North looked startled by the earthquake, sharing looks of worry amongst themselves as they frowned and struggled to stay standing. Tooth remained just fine, hovering in the air, while Jack laughed at Ed's actions, jumping into the air himself as he watched Bunny stumble around and try to find cover from the falling toys that the yetis had dropped from the level above them in the workshop.

"Enough of this crap! What the hell is going on? Can someone tell me what the heck a Guardian is? I mean, seriously, is this how you greet all of your guests?" Ed demanded, glaring at them as he folded his arms over his chest, rising to his feet in front of them.

The others were staring in a stunned silence, watching Ed carefully as they slowly stepped closer to the boy. Jack broke through the silence first, laughing as he walked over to Ed, patting his back as he swung his staff over his shoulder. "Nice one, Ed. Wish I'd pulled off something like that myself. I couldn't have done it better." Jack commented with a grin.

Ed's eyebrow twitched in irritation, his eyes closing as he inclined his head and waited for Jack to step away and remove his hand. "No way, we are not letting a reckless, ignorant little—" Bunny began, turning towards North who cut him off, slowly grinning over towards Edward.

"Guardian. He has quite the skill, I see," North stated, smiling over at the boy.

Tooth nodded in agreement, flying over to his face and making him stumble back as she and her mini fairies forced their hands into his mouth, opening his jaw and inspecting his teeth. "Oh, and look at how well he flosses! He's perfect, I just know he'll do so much to help protect the children," she insisted, the other fairies moving on quickly to fawn over Jack again.

Ed's eyes flashed at her words, the first real hint he had as to what this was about. "Children? What do you mean? Are you talking about that guy from last night?" Ed demanded, Pitch's face flashing in his mind.

The others frowned, turning towards Ed. "Wait, what guy? Just what were you up to last night anyway, mate? More importantly, who the hell are you in the first place?" Bunny demanded, stepping closer with a frown on his face.

Ed stared up at him, disliking the fact that a stupid rabbit was so tall. "I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, and last night, I was chasing down a lead on my past," Ed insisted, glancing over at Jack who blinked at him, his eyes a little wider than before.

"Wait, how? The Man in the Moon….he didn't actually talk to you, did he?" Jack asked, watching as Ed shook his head, gazing at the wall behind the others.

"Not at all. No, I was chasing someone else, someone who was there when I first woke up from whatever had happened to me," Ed stated darkly, frowning as his eyes took on a haunted look, growing distant and unfocused. "That bastard….he was the only one there….the only one alive, anyway."

The others didn't know what to say, watching the boy's shoulders shake ever so slightly in his anger. Tooth hovered nervously, playing with her hands as she glanced over at the others for help. Sandy nudged North, but the tall man was staring with wide eyes at the boy. Even Bunny looked stunned, unsure of how to react to the dark sound of Ed's words.

Jack was the one who didn't react that way, patting Ed's shoulder again and making the boy's gaze focus once more, turning towards the winter spirit with a slight nod of acknowledgment. "Yeah, anyway, last night I saw that bastard again. He was looking for something, the final key to claiming God's power for himself. When I went to investigate the home he was so interested in, I found a man inside who called himself Pitch Black."

"Claiming God's power? Is this guy nuts or something?" Jack asked, watching as Edward smirked slightly at the spirit.

"Yeah, but I can't explain it either. I feel like I know what he wants….I just can't remember what it is," Ed stated, glancing down towards the ground after a few moments. "God isn't real, at least, I don't think he exists. Everything in the world can be explained with science, even if we have yet to find the answers to some questions, I know they exist somewhere," he explained, watching the others nod in agreement.

"Wait, what about the Man in the Moon? If you don't believe in God….are you saying he doesn't exist?" Tooth asked, flying closer to Ed. He held his arms up, ready to block off an attempt to search his mouth again. When no such attempt came, he lowered them, gazing at her as he sighed, frowning slightly. "I mean, he chose all of us…even you, Fullmetal."

The Man in the Moon, the name made Edward glance upward at the ceiling, his hands loosely resting by his sides. For some reason, Ed could not deny his existence. Closing his eyes, the more he thought about it, the more something came to him when he focused on that very name. An image, more like an outline of a person, with no specific features beyond a pure white body. A toothy smile, one that sent chills through Edward flashed in his mind, along with a scream as shadows grabbed him and pulled him through a massive stone gate. A shout, something like Al, echoed in his mind, making Edward flinch and open his eyes, his breathing hard as he glanced towards the others.

Ed frowned, realizing he was on his back on the floor. He must have fallen at some point, when the memory came back to him. As awful and horrifying as that place was, it was better than nothing. "Truth….damn it, what game is he playing at now?" Ed asked, rubbing his head as he sat up, ignoring the concerned looks of the others who had gathered around him.

There was no doubt in his mind, the Man in the Moon was Truth. All of these people, these immortal spirits chosen to be his Guardians, they were Truth's version of the homunculus. While they didn't operate on a philosopher's stone, Ed knew that the crazy being in that place could get away with quite a bit out here. The one he met last night, that had to have been born from Truth's fear, and these guys….well, he supposed he would learn just what aspect of Truth they possessed. "Truth, what kind of a name is that?" Jack asked, crouching down next to Ed, leaning against his staff that stood above his head for now.

"None of your business!" Ed shouted, glaring at him for a moment before his gaze turned towards his hands. They were shaking, still not quite recovered from whatever he had gone through to retrieve those memories. "What else is there? What else did I forget?" Ed asked quietly, slowly forcing his hands to steady themselves, resting now calmly in his lap as he let his legs straighten out in front of him.

"Tooth." North said quietly, nodding his head towards Edward. The fairy nodded, flying closer and resting on the ground, sitting with her legs folded underneath her by Edward's side.

Sandy stood with Bunny behind her, while North focused on Jack instead. "Jack, walk with me." North called out, gesturing for the winter spirit to follow him. Edward frowned as they moved to leave, watching Jack's familiar face give him an apologetic smile before turning to follow after North into the workshop.

Edward watched as one of the fairies by Tooth flew off, after a nod from their master. "You really can't remember, can you?" she asked quietly, smiling softly at him. Ed scowled, not wanting to bother her with his problems right now. "It seems like I've failed in my job, you know, in protecting the memories of your childhood. It's what I stand for, just like all of the other Guardians stand for something themselves." she explained.

Ed narrowed his gaze at her, frowning as he determined at least one more piece. "So, you're telling me that you have the key to getting my memories back?" Ed asked, watching her nod with a smile on her face.

"I do, but that's not going to help you now, not as much as you think it will," Tooth said softly. "You see, the children need us, now more than ever. They are afraid, and it is our job to keep them safe, from people like Pitch Black. Remembering sad things…I don't know if it will help you make things any better, Fullmetal," she explained.

Ed's gaze focused on the wall behind the two distant Guardians, who had begun talking amongst themselves. It was strange to watch, hearing one with a thick Australian accent while the other just created images in response. Still, the distraction helped Ed focus to some extent, finding his reasoning. "First of all, don't call me Fullmetal, I'd prefer Ed," he insisted, pulling his leg towards his body and leaving his knee in the air, with only one leg stretched out. He let his elbow rest on that knee, placing his chin in his palm as he took a calming breath. "As far as my memories go…well, they can only help in the end. You can't gain something without giving something in return. If I want to become strong enough to protect those people, I need to endure the pain of my past and look towards the future."

Tooth stared at him, giving Ed a small smile. "It seems like you've really thought this through." she commented, staring at him with bright violet eyes. "Please, don't lose sight of who you are, Ed. We all have something deep in our hearts that we strive to protect in others. We call it our center, and in time, you will find yours. Maybe you hold your memories dear to your heart, but they aren't what makes you who you are, at least, not entirely."

Ed nodded, thoughtful as he gazed over at the wall. A fairy returned, buzzing as it entered the room with a golden case in hand, looking somewhat frantic as it dropped the case on the floor and hurried over towards Tooth. Ed didn't even pretend to understand the mix of buzzing and tweeting noises the creature made, but Tooth's eyes went wide at the creature resting in her palms, gesturing wildly around its small body with wide eyes and heavy breathing. "Oh no…my fairies! I'm sorry, Ed, but I must go! Please, don't forget my advice! Find your center, and always keep it safe!"

Ed nodded, watching her fly off towards the exit. Bunny watched her go, his ears going down as his face turned grave, running off down the hall where North and Jack had gone. Something was going wrong, Ed realized, making him focus on the golden case before him. An image of his face was painted on the side, a smirking blond-haired boy. With a sigh, Edward pocketed the case, deciding this could wait until later. After all, people needed his help now, and from what he had seen, these guys were helpless idiots without him by their side.

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**


	5. Dark Intent

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Rise of the Guardians

The sleigh ride had been quick, thanks to the use of some strange portal North had. Ed had not hesitated to rush in joining them, not bothering to ask permission to go as he latched on to the bottom of the sleigh before takeoff. They hadn't even bothered looking for him, none of them wanting to ask if he would come with on this mission of theirs. Ed still frowned at that, holding on tightly as the thing flew through the sky. To gain a bit more stability, Ed had created a small blade in his automail arm, letting it imbed itself into the wood of the sleigh and giving him somewhat of a break when he wasn't holding himself tightly against the surface on the bottom. Still, the wind had shaken his body and made it a struggle to stay on board throughout the trip, and he couldn't help but take a deep breath of relief when it was over.

At the palace, even with the majority of his view blocked by the sight of reindeer hooves and wood, Ed could see something going wrong. Below him, all of the colorful round platforms were under attack, swarmed with the creatures he had seen before. The things that Father had been interested in, the ones created by Pitch Black, were flying past the sleigh. He missed the comments of those above, due to his precarious position under the sleigh as the attack continued.

Peering out from underneath the sleigh, glancing between the stands used to hold it somewhat elevated off of the ground, Ed saw the Guardians gather, with Jack Frost at their side. Still, something seemed off about this, the entire place here just felt wrong. Ed was frowning, turning away from them for a moment as he focused below him, trying to think before his eyes widened at the ground beneath him. White chalk was written right under the sleigh, a symbol Ed would recognize anywhere.

"I have to say, this is very, very exciting. The Big Four, all in one place. I'm a little starstruck. What did you think of my show on the globe, North? Gotcha all together, didn't I?" Pitch's voice sounded, echoing out triumphantly around the palace.

Ed didn't care about him right now, realizing that Father hadn't been interested in the nightmare at all that night. With a fierce look in his eyes, Ed quickly decided that there was only one thing to be done. He just hoped he would be able to move fast enough for it to work. He clapped his hands together from his spot under the sleigh, about to press them against the surface of the ground only for a massive blast to throw him and the sleigh back, colliding with him from above.

The Guardians all stared with wide eyes at the calm man stepping closer to them on the platform, a smile on his face. "Get to the center, now!" Ed ordered, watching the Guardians glance at Ed with frowns on their faces. North nodded, trusting the boy and running towards the center of the circular platform, but Bunny hesitated.

"Why should we trust you? You weren't even supposed to be here!" Bunny asked, while Ed glared at him, clapping his hands together again. Father saw the motion and moved to stop it again, standing still as a blast of energy shot out towards Ed. However, the Fullmetal Alchemist had been expecting this, grinning as he rolled out of the way, letting the energy collide with the platform behind him.

"Ha! Let's see you win without your transmutation circle! You can't make a philosopher's stone without it, even if you do have the power of God!" Ed declared, pointing at the homunculus who scowled in irritation.

"Meddlesome fool, as I've told you before, you will soon join my collection. Then, you will aid me in my goals, whether you want to or not, Edward Elric," Father insisted, while Ed charged forward with his fist raised.

Father blocked Ed's fist, kicking out at the boy and making Edward fall on his face. Even there, he was not going to stop, reaching out with his arm to grab Father's leg and pulling the man down with Edward. "It seems your plan has failed, God. Tell me, are you ready to follow my lead? After all, I know these being far better than you. If you wish to destroy them, let me show you how to make them weak first," a voice stated behind them, making Father frown and turn upwards.

Pitch stood on another platform, calmly holding his hand out towards Father. "Pitch, give me back my fairies!" Tooth shouted, flying forward.

Father looked at her, frowning as her path was blocked by a barrier of energy that he created, surrounding both him and Pitch. "Or what? You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?" Pitch asked, his voice implying just how calm he was about the entire situation.

"Indeed, such a weak little insect. I do believe we only have one problem to deal with in this group," Father stated, his gaze narrowing towards Ed.

Jack Frost flew forward this time too, sending a wave of snow towards both of them from his staff with a look of rage on his face. "Hey! Leave them alone!" Jack demanded, watching as his snow was stopped like all the other attacks, blocked by a massive shield.

Ed reached out and grabbed Jack's arm, stopping him before the kid tried to charge through the barrier. "Enough, it isn't worth the effort. He's got a philosopher's stone, you don't stand a chance right now without backup," Ed insisted, watching as the spirit frowned at Ed, but nodded. Jack landed by his side, watching as Pitch and Father flew off on the back of a nightmare, the rest of the creatures following behind them after their failed attempt to destroy all the guardians.

Ed knelt down on the ground, focused on the remains of the circle at his feet with a scowl. This was unforgivable, an act Edward was not going to let them get away with. He pounded his fist against the ground, growling as he gritted his teeth together. "Damn it! Why the hell can't I do anything right?" he demanded, seeing the distraught expressions of everyone else.

"Fullmetal, how did you get here? You were not in sleigh," North asked, sounding confused.

Edward sighed, still hunched over on the ground. After taking another breath, he straightened his back, looking over at North with his eyes still narrowed and focused elsewhere. "Yeah, I kind of hitched a ride underneath it. I'm glad this thing held up for that trip, I don't know what I would have done without it." Ed commented, glancing at his automail arm. The glove was torn off still, leaving the metal visible to the others here.

"Oh my gosh! Edward, how….what happened?" Tooth asked, flying closer to him at the sight. Bunny's nose sniffed the air, looking wary at the sight of the metal as he leaned away with narrowed eyes.

Glancing away from the fairy, Ed pulled out the teeth from his pocket. "I don't know…but I think it is time to find out," he insisted, watching her nod at him, giving him a slight smile of encouragement.

Jack frowned at the interaction, coming closer as Ed pressed his hand against the white surface of the case. It was smooth, though he could feel small ridges where the five colored rhombuses sat engraved on the white cover. His thumb brushed over one of them, feeling the shape of it as the world around him faded away from his sight, images pouring into his mind.

Images of his past were what he saw instead, flashes of faces and events that made him who he was. As a child, Ed could see himself playing with his brother, Al, and his mother in the house. The image changed quickly, with Ed peering out from the edge of a hallway as his father walked out on them, a man who did indeed look like the man Ed was fighting today. Flashes of his family and home life continued, ending with a sight that left Ed cold, the appearance of his mother's collapsed body on the ground, found by himself and Al when they were still just kids.

Edward remembered more, an endless stream of images that told him who he was and where he came from. He remembered meeting Truth for the first time, surrendering his leg in an attempt to bring his mother back. He remembered giving up his arm for Al's soul. He remembered all of his battles, fighting against the homunculi in Amestris, alongside Alphonse. He remembered failing, how they had all fallen at the hands of Father when he finally accomplished his twisted goal and began to lose control. Edward remembered dying on the ground, loosing far too much blood to keep on fighting as Al's soul was dragged back to his body, away from the armor he had been bound to for years.

"A…Alphonse…" Edward mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his head. His eyes flashed open, startling the group of Guardians that had gathered around him, moving him to what looked like a grassy spot next to a pond. A wall stood on the other side of the water, painted with images that seemed to match the pinks of the palace he was in. "No…I didn't mean to….I have to get to…." Ed was saying, his breaths coming quicker as his eyes widened even further.

"Easy, Ed. Take your time, I think you might need it," Tooth told him, hovering in front of him as Edward struggled to get to his feet. "You were out for a while, I didn't realize that retrieving your memories would have that kind of an effect on you," she stated calmly, worry dancing in her eyes.

Ed shook his head, pushing her away and stumbling up to his feet. He was unsteady, finding himself nearly falling as he first stood, but he quickly held his arms out to keep his balance. "No, I don't have time! Al's waiting for me, and I've just been goofing off around here! What kind of a brother am I, just abandoning him in that place?" Ed demanded, glaring as he focused on the area around him. His gaze was darting across every surface, searching for something. His hands ran across the grass, feeling the smooth texture of the plants underneath his palm as he tried to think of what might lie underneath.

"Damn it! I don't have anything to trade away! Come on, what can I use?" Ed demanded, running a hand through his hair only to feel Tooth grab his shoulders and push Ed back, forcing him to sit back down on the ground. Behind her, he could see North, Bunny, Sandy, and Jack watching with worry in their eyes.

"Okay, I don't know about you guys, but I think he better start explaining," Bunny commented, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ed stared at him, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes. "I…I can't," Ed stated after a few moments, glancing over towards them. "Sorry, but if this information gets out to the wrong people, a lot of innocents will die and I cannot let that happen. I hardly know any of you, there's no way I'm trusting you with any of this," Ed stated, standing up as he took another deep breath, giving them a slight smirk. "Besides, you owe me after what I did back there. I helped stop Father, so you have to help me in return."

"Uh, I hate to break it to you, but Tooth already helped you. You know, your memory and all of that?" Jack hinted, walking over to the alchemist who frowned, slamming his fist into the grass.

"Damn, I guess you're right," he stated, slowly beginning to smile. "Either way, it looks like I'm in for a rough ride. Whatever you're doing on the other side, Al, keep it up, because we don't have a chance in hell if Father actually obtains all of that bastard's power. I'll come for you soon, I promise," he added, gazing upward towards the blue sky.

 **I've got another chapter ready for you all! I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!**


	6. Protecting Life

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Rise of the Guardians or Fullmetal Alchemist

There was a slight smile on Ed's face, a light in his eyes that shown when he spoke of his brother. "So, that was the other enemy Manny warned us about," North stated off towards the side, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Edward, you claimed he was your father, no?" North asked, focusing on the boy.

The faint smile on his face vanished, the edges of his lips turning downward in distaste at the idea. "Hell no, Father is nothing like that bastard. He….well, I never actually learned his name, now that I think about it," Ed commented, frowning as he focused on trying to recall just who that guy was. "I only ever thought of him as Father, because he was the father of all of the hom—er, guys that I was fighting against."

Bunny stepped closer, narrowing his eyes at the guy with them. "Wait, so you knew about him before today? Why the hell didn't you warn us, you bloody rascal? We could have been prepared, possibly even saved the fairies and the teeth if we knew what we were up against here!" he demanded, while Ed narrowed his eyes at Bunny, standing up and stepping closer to the angry Guardian.

"Says the guy who almost became a sacrifice for a new Philosopher's Stone! Knowing doesn't change much of anything, even _I_ don't think I'm strong enough against him. You are dealing with a guy who took out an entire country, and made it look like child's play," Ed said, while Bunny knelt down closer to Ed's face, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

"Well, I've never once heard of such a thing happening. Tell me, just who are you again? Because last I heard, you are even more invisible than Frost over here!" Bunny shouted, gesturing to the winter spirit who blinked in surprise, stopping his little game of playing with frost on the grass to join them. "If it is possible for one man to destroy a country, we would have heard. It is our job to protect children, from any threat they might face. I'm sick of your lies and secrets, for all I care, you can get lost!"

"Bunny, that's enough!" North shouted, pulling the Guardian of Hope back as he joined them. He was frowning as he stared down at Ed, looking a bit sad as he sighed and shook his head. "Edward, I know that you are new to our world and that you do not know us, however, we need you. In the end, you were chosen, just like Jack, and we will need to stand united if we want to win against our enemies."

Edward's gaze focused on Bunny, who had crossed his arms over his chest as he glared over at the lake. Tooth was hovering nervously nearby, just behind North, while Sandy seemed to swing his arms nervously at his sides, looking anywhere but at where Ed was standing. Edward ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes as he inhaled the crisp spring air, focusing on calming his mind before opening his gaze once more. "Alright. You're right, anyway. Alone, any of us would die against Father, that I can promise you," Edward insisted, watching as Jack frowned.

"Wait, that's it? You're just agreeing like that? What happened to this whole equal trade thing you mentioned?" Jack demanded. "To be honest, I'm not seeing much in this for me. I've got my own ways of living, and I think I rather like them. Besides, there are a few kids nearby that could use a good snow day right now," he added with a slight grin, making a snowball in his hand and tossing it into the air.

Ed turned towards Jack, watching the young man for a few moments before smiling, pointing towards him as he grew confident in his offer. "Well then, I guess I have no choice. You will join us, Jack Frost, because we have something you've been searching for your entire life. I saw it in you when we first met, and I can see it again now. You're just like I was, lost without any memories of where you came from," he declared, watching the guy's eyes widen, shaking his head as he pushed Ed's outstretched arm away. Edward let it fall back to his side, still smiling even though Jack was doing his best to ignore them right now.

"I…I wasn't anyone before I was Jack Frost…." the guy stated, sounding a bit unsure of his own words.

Tooth's eyes widened at that comment, looking over at him and studying Jack's expression. "We were all someone before we were chosen. You really don't remember?" she asked, while Edward nodded for the guy, watching as Jack's breaths came slightly quicker, his chest rising and falling more than before.

"He has no clue, and that's what he'll get if he helps us," Ed stated, glancing over at Tooth. "They took those boxes of yours, right? One of them has to have Jack's memories. If he helps out, I think we might be able to get those memories back for him." Ed stated, watching Jack slowly begin to accept the information, staring at them with a frown that slowly was turning into a grin. He crouched low to the ground, his grip on his staff as his expression turned eager for what was about to come.

"I'm in," Jack said, but that was when something seemed to go wrong. The palace around them, all of the buildings seemed to start to crumble and fall away. On the other side of the water, a painting began to melt away, fading into nothing as belief vanished in Tooth. The fairy herself looked startled, feathers falling from behind her and onto the grass at their feet as he eyes went wide.

"Oh no, we're too late," Tooth whispered, her voice shaky as he hands went to her mouth, terror in her eyes.

North stepped forward, his swords out and swinging around madly. "No such thing as too late!"

Ed was frowning at all of this, not aware of why any of this was happening. Jack looked quite similar, gazing around with a frown on his face, his lips parted slightly in horror at the destruction of the Tooth Palace. "What's wrong? What is going on here?" Jack demanded, echoing Ed's own attempt at figuring that out.

"No time to explain!" North shouted, pacing around with his swords tightly gripped in his fists. Rather suddenly, he spun around, one of the blades swinging into Bunny's face and nearly slicing into his fur. "Idea! We will collect the teeth!" North declared, gesturing to all of them.

Edward blinked at those words, taking a slight step back from the man that was far too careless with his weapons. "Wait, what? How the hell are some stupid teeth supposed to help us?" he demanded, while North smiled, seeming pleased with his plan.

"It will keep children believing, in Tooth, while we figure out a plan to deal with Pitch and his ally," North explained, while Edward frowned, his hands in his pockets as he gazed upward at the crumbling home of the fairies.

Seeing more of it falling, Edward sighed and closed his eyes, slowly smiling and nodding towards him. "I see, that's how this works out. You guys run on belief, however, in exchange for that power, your life is tied to it as well. Damn, that's a high price for some stupid abilities," Ed commented, running a hand through his hair. "Either way, I'm not going to just sit back and watch anyone die. Consider it done. I'll get those teeth for you."

All of them stood together, united for the first time. A few of them were aware that they were missing a member, however, this was the start of their alliance. As Ed grinned at them, standing next to Jack who rose to his feet, they all prepared to leave once more for Burgess, where children were sleeping and waiting for the Tooth Fairy to arrive.

They took the sleigh once more, and Ed was relieved to actually be invited to sit in the seats this time. While the others might have a better way of traveling around on their own, Ed had no way of getting there without the device. Sitting inside, Ed was wedged between Jack and Bunny in the backseat, with Sandy and Tooth just in front of him on the sides of North, who was holding the reigns with a grin on his face. Bunny was clutching the sides of the sleigh tightly, hunching over to try and keep his head lower than the top of the nearest wall, while Jack smirked at him, standing in his seat as the sleigh began to take off. Edward was frowning at it, staring at the animals pulling it forward and wondering just how this thing worked.

One snow globe later and they were all back in town, landing on a lake hidden deep within the trees of the town. "Alright, let's get started! Those teeth are mine!" North declared with a grin, running off on his own towards Burgess.

"Oh yeah, I bet I can get more than you!" Jack challenged, flying off into the air with Bunny chasing after them, running on all four of his feet now.

Tooth smiled over at Ed, before her head snapped up, gazing off in the distance. "Oh, there's one over there! Oh, and another one—oh, my gosh, this is so exciting, I haven't been out in the field in so long!" she exclaimed, flying off at high speeds towards the town.

Ed was left with Sandy, and when he glanced over at the golden man the Guardian of Dreams only shrugged, creating a cloud of sand underneath him. Edward expected him to just leave, but the Guardian patted the cloud gently, smiling at Ed and waiting patiently. After a few moments, Edward returned his smile and stepped on, climbing onto the dream sand and joining the Guardian in the flight towards town.

"So, you guys protect kids, huh?" Ed asked, watching Sandy nod as they flew. They stopped at a nearby window and Edward watched the man disappear inside for a moment, returning with a tooth to place inside of a red bag that was resting next to Edward on the sand. "I can't say I've done much with kids myself," Edward commented, a frown on his face as he glanced away from the other man. "I was friends with one once….but I couldn't save her in the end," he added, his fists clutching tightly at the fabric of his pants.

Edward felt something light brush against his shoulder, making him turn his head towards Sandy once more. The man had reached out and was giving Ed a sad smile, resting his palm against the back of Ed's shoulder. An image appeared above Sandy's head, an image of a child running around and playing, followed by a question mark.

Ed frowned for a few moments, staring at Sandy before sighing and shaking his head. "I still am not any closer to understanding you, you crazy bastard. Still, I think I know what you're asking. She did like to play, in fact, she'd always make me play with her and her dog. That dog was the real monster…." he said, shuddering slightly.

Sandy nodded with a smile, shaking his head at Edward. He pointed to the alchemist, pressing a hand to his chest with an encouraging smile. An image of a shield appeared above Sandy's head, as he nodded and continued pressing his finger into Ed's chest.

The alchemist frowned, shaking his head and pushing Sandy's hand away. They stopped once more, another tooth to collect before he could actually reply to Sandy's gesture. When Sandy emerged once more, he was smirking and tossing a tooth in the air, before placing it carefully in the collection they were slowly growing. "I'm not a protector of any kind, I failed her," Ed stated, watching as Sandy frowned in return.

The image returned, the image of a child playing above his head. Edward watched it, his gaze sad as he saw something else in his own mind, a darker image of a dog with long brown hair covering its head, but white fur on its face and legs. The dog was asking if they could play, just like the kid above Sandy's head was doing.

Edward blinked his eyes shut for a moment, grimacing as he shook his head and banished the image. "Yeah, she played, so what?" Ed asked, glaring at Sandy who smiled encouragingly. Another image appeared, a simply smily face made of golden sand as he pointed to Ed, smiling even brighter. "She…she was happy?" he guessed, watching the Guardian nod. "You're saying that I helped her….that I was her protector because I made her smile?"

Sandy patted Ed's arm, nodding in agreement before stopping to get another tooth. This time, he waited in the room, gesturing for Edward to join him inside. "That isn't enough, not to me it isn't. Life is precious, once it is taken away, you can't get it back," Ed said calmly, frowning as Sandy grabbed his wrist and pulled Edward over to the bed.

The child was sleeping peacefully, a young boy with blond hair snoring quietly in the room. There was a nightlight near his bed, illuminating the brown table he had by his bedside. A pair of blocky black glasses sat on top, something Ed noticed as he bumped into the table in his path towards the bed. Staring at the face of the kid, Ed couldn't help but give a small smile, kneeling down next to him. "To lose something like that at such a young age….anyone who would steal away their life is a monster, that is just unforgivable," Edward stated, his voice stronger with those words.

Sandy nodded, patting his back as he pointed to the pillow under the kid's head. With a sigh, Edward slipped his hand underneath, pulling out a tooth and holding it in his hand. He frowned in distaste at the feeling of it, the smooth tooth that still had some of the kid's gums attached. Behind him, Sandy was letting out a silent laugh at the expression on Ed's face as he scowled at the tooth, holding it as far away from his body as possible while they returned to the sandy cloud that they flew on over the city.

Edward still wasn't smiling as they continued on, frowning as he rested on the cloud of sand. They would stop at random homes, focusing on their job, but Ed's focus was diverted elsewhere. After hours of brooding and silent flight, Edward sighed and ran a hand through his hair, glancing over at Sandy. "I think I get it, now," he said at last.

The Guardian of Dreams glanced over at him, raising his eyebrows at the statement. "You guys don't protect children, not in the sense I first thought. It isn't about making sure they live on, it's about making sure they enjoy life," Ed stated, watching as Sandy began to grin, giving him a thumbs up. To mimic the gesture, the same thing was created in sand above his head, making Ed roll his eyes at the exaggeration. "I suppose that works for me. In the end, life's too short to sit around moping over things you've lost. It is better to stay strong, and keep looking forward into the future."

Slowly, the sand cloud descended to a bridge below, landing with the others in front of Tooth. Sandy picked up his bag of teeth, smiling as Edward joined him on the ground with his hands in his pockets. He still refused to get anywhere near those things, placing all of the teeth he had collected into Sandy's bag instead.

Tooth's wide smile told them just how she felt as she fluttered around all of their bags, seeing just how many teeth they had gathered. "Wow! You guys collect teeth and leave gifts as fast as my fairies!" she exclaimed. Ed's eyes widened somewhat, while the others lowered their bags and shared looks of confusion. He didn't quite get what the purpose of collecting teeth was, but even he should have realized that this was not an equivalent exchange. They had just spent the entire night stealing teeth from kids, and it was clear from their expressions that the others had not even thought of doing so themselves. "You guys have been leaving gifts, right?"

Ed groaned, smacking his forehead with his flesh hand. His eyes were closed, and he left his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, his eyebrows drawn together as Sandy smiled and quickly rushed to grab change. Before long, he was back in the air, starting over all the work they had finished. When Sandy ran out of change, Ed would step in and use some of the material from the floors or walls to make toy sculptures with alchemy. In the end, it was far more work than it should have been, and that left Edward in a bad mood that was only going to get worse throughout the night.

 **It's been a while! Updates should be a little bit more frequent now that classes have ended, at least for now. I'm trying to resume scheduled updates, so I'll hopefully be putting them out regularly as well. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!**


	7. The Price of Secrecy

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Rise of the Guardians

Before long, Edward and Sandy were on the way to the last house, following after North who had been just ahead of them. "Ah, Edward, good to see you again. Did you enjoy your time with Sandy?" North asked, while Ed frowned, glancing away from him.

"Maybe. What's it to you?" he demanded, while North laughed, patting his belly as they made their way through the streets of Burgess.

"Relax, we may be working, but this is fun, no?" North asked, watching as Ed continued to ignore him, focused more on getting back to the others. "Look, I know Tooth was the one who spoke with you, but I wanted to ask you if you had made any progress yet." North stated after a few moments. "Tell me, Edward Elric, just who are you? What is your center?" he demanded, his voice deep and rather intimidating as he stopped suddenly, turning towards the alchemist and leaning over Ed with his hands resting on his hips.

Edward leaned back, bumping into Sandy who was watching them uncomfortably off to the side. "None of your business, so back off! I told you before, I'm here to stop Father, not to join your little club of homunculus wannabes," Ed insisted with a glare, shoving his hands into his pockets and pushing past North to move forward. Sandy and North glanced at each other, both of them with their brows furrowed in confusion. Before long, Sandy just shrugged and followed after Ed, with North not too far behind.

"Damn it, just what did he give me?" Ed grumbled under his breath, still far enough ahead that the others couldn't hear. "Pitch is Fear, Tooth is Memory, Sandy is Dreams…damn, its all too similar. Why the hell would that bastard throw away parts of himself like this? It's not like the ones Father gave up on, thrown away because they were sinful emotions," Edward commented, wishing Al were here to help. With a sigh, he shook his head and stopped, glancing back and letting the others catch up to him.

"Edward, I did not mean to upset you." North stated after a few moments, giving him a small smile. "You see, all of us have something very special inside. You and Jack just need a little push to find it, that is all," he added, when Edward did not reply. The alchemist was still just frowning, stopping at the house they were on their way towards as North spoke. "Your center makes you who you are, and once you find it, you will know what must be done. My wonder helps me when I make toys, seeing just how amazing each and every one is. Bunny's hope helps him paint a brighter future in his eggs. So tell me, just what inspires you, Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Edward continued staring up at the house, gazing at the window above them. Sandy had created a cloud of sand for them again, reaching out to help Ed onto it so they could fly towards the child. "I don't know," Ed stated at last, not really having an answer.

Ed watched as North climbed in through the window of the child's room, a large bag of teeth behind his back as he slipped inside. Sandy gestured for Edward to follow, so he quickly jumped over the small gap between the golden sand and the ledge of the window. Gripping the window sill with the palm of his automail arm, Ed quickly pulled himself inside, staring at the commotion within as Sandy moved to join him as well.

Inside, Ed could overhear Bunny and Jack, bragging about how many teeth they had collected. Edward watched with a distracted look in his gaze, turning away from them to lean against the window and gaze out at the night sky. _What are you doing out there, Al?_ he wondered, frowning at the moon. _I wish you were here, so you could help make sure I don't do anything too reckless._

The night remained silent, nothing going on outside of the house, however, Ed's thoughts were interrupted by North's cheerful shout behind him. "I win! Yee-ha!" he shouted, dancing around in the room to celebrate. Edward turned around, shaking his head at the sight of the man joining in the competition for the most teeth, his own giant sack placed on the ground in front of the others.

His cheering stopped suddenly when a light flashed on, the kid in the bed awake and rubbing at his eyes as he sat up to look at the source of the noise. His eyes widened at his jaw dropped at the sight before him, his lips pulling up at the edges as the light moved over the group before him. "Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Sandman, the Tooth Fairy! I knew you'd come!" he shouted.

Ed frowned at this, stepping closer to the kid and kneeling directly into his face. "What the hell? Since when can you see us, you little brat?" Ed demanded, waving his hand in the kid's face and getting no response.

"It doesn't work like that, mate." Bunny commented, pulling Ed back by gripping the excess fabric of his coat. The alchemist glared at him in response, quickly putting some space between himself and Bunny the moment he was free.

Staring at the kid, Edward nodded, one hand resting on his chin with the other folded over his chest. "I see, that's what the belief does. I wonder…" he mused, glancing around the room. Sandy watched Edward carefully, following after the boy as the others began worrying about Jaimie, discussing putting him to sleep using Sandy's power. Still the Sandman ignored them, more interested in what the alchemist was doing over by the kid's desk.

A notebook was resting on top, along with a few crayons that had been used to draw some picture of a sled, based on what Ed saw posted on the wall. He smiled at the picture, glancing back at Jack who was looking a bit distraught over his own invisibility. Turning back to the paper, Ec decided it was time to do something about this little problem of his, to test out just what he could do. Pulling a black crayon over towards the paper, Ed let it rest on top of the paper as he clapped his hands together, pressing it to them and reshaping it as much as he could. It wasn't quite enough material to work with, but it was definitely a start, Ed decided, as he stared down at what looked like a book on the desk now, instead of the crayon and paper.

Ed picked it up, gazing at the cover that read The Fullmetal Alchemist. Within, Edward had told the story of how he first started off, his search for the philosopher's stone with Al by his side as they sought to regain their bodies. "Sandy, get over here, would ya!" Bunny demanded, not even paying attention to Ed as they all tried to calm down the dog and Jaimie now. Edward didn't even know where the pet had come from, but based on his past experiences, he didn't want to even try getting close to the creature.

Ed left the book on the desk, turning around to watch as Sandy tried to throw the ball of sand at the dog. Ed watched as the dog went nuts over the sound of the alarm clock going off, after Jack slapped it with his staff. The winter spirit grinned wildly at the scene, watching as the dog ran after Bunny, barking and nipping at his feet. Sandy's shot went wild, due to Bunny running past him, far too close, and throwing the guy off balance. The ball of dream sand instead collided with Tooth, who collapsed immediately.

Ed frowned, seeing the sand form golden teeth above her head. The sand was not finished yet, and Ed jumped back to avoid being hit himself as it bounced off of Tooth, going towards Bunny who was still doing his best to avoid the dog, shouting for help. Jack was still laughing at the sight, his eyes alight with amusement as the sand continued on its path, this time finally hitting the dog. It isn't quite done yet, however, ricocheting off of the dog and into North, who collapsed with one last gasp of "Candy canes…"

Ed blinked at the sight, letting himself smile after all of the chaos ended. North had dreams of candy canes dancing above his head, slowly merging with the carrots Bunny seemed to be thinking about. "Some people really don't understand how science works. Candy isn't alive, it just can't do that." he commented, watching it dance around in the air.

"Really, all of this fun and that is your response?" Jack asked, stepping by his side as he grinned at the sight of North and Bunny's dreams. "Oh, I really wish I had a camera right now," he stated, while Sandy walked over to them.

Edward rolled his eyes at the spirit, moving away to find more paper for his plan. Just as he reached the desk, his palm pressed against the surface, something flickered in the corner of his vision. Edward frowned, turning towards it before his golden eyes widened, the sight of a Nightmare in the window. Without pausing to think, Ed moved towards the window, not even noticing as Jack followed suit, flying after the thing as Ed jumped out onto the ground, chasing on foot after the flying creature.

With Sandy and Jack flying overhead, Edward had to struggle to keep up. His feet pounded against the paved streets, now empty due to the lateness of the light and only illuminated by a few sparse streetlights here and there. While the sky was clear with a full moon shining down on them, it still did little to make the night seem brighter with the shadowy horses flying through the sky.

Edward watched as Sandy transformed one of them, changing it from the black sand of fear to and back into a golden light. From there, Sandy jumped on top of the sand, riding a massive manta-ray made of dream sand as Jack flew off after another. Edward gazed around, searching for one to attack on his own, his expression determined as his gaze searched the sky.

Finally, he spotted one, clapping his hands together against the paved ground. Blue sparks danced from his palms before the street itself rose before him, a massive spike forming and growing from the ground. It impaled the creature, dispersing the sand and sending it flying towards the ground. "Man, this would be so much easier if I knew what this crap was made out of!" Ed complained, running his hand over the dark remains of the creature with a sigh. He rose back to his feet, searching for the others to help them continue in the battle.

Edward frowned when he couldn't find the guy, only to jerk back at the sight of Pitch Black flying down from a rooftop, thrown into the roof of a car and slowly getting up in the streets. From the roof, Jack and Sandy were slowly coming down, looking rather intimidating to their enemy. Ed was on edge, though, seeing this as being far too easy. "Nice work, Fear. It seems there is hope for you yet," a voice called out from behind Pitch, stepping forward with a smile.

Ed stilled, staring at the man with wide eyes. "Wh—what did you just call him?" Edward demanded, seeing Father emerge in the street as well.

"Fear, in the end, it was something else I had to cast aside in order to succeed. I think it worked quite brilliantly, did it not?" Father declared, while Pitch smiled at his side, stepping forward towards Jack, Sandy, and Edward. "He had his own agenda for quite some time, a rather rebellious child like Greed. In the end, I managed to tame him, and now, we shall have what we came for," Father insisted, his gaze locking on Sandy specifically.

"So, they are homunculus, aren't they? All of us…us 'spirits', or 'Guardians', or whatever the hell you want to call us….that's all we really are?" Ed demanded, watching as Father smiled, stepping closer to them as Ed's shoulders shook, fire in his eyes as he stared at the ground.

"Perhaps, even I cannot say that. In a few more days, then I will know the answer." Father insisted, a dark tone in his voice that made Ed's head snap up, alarm in his gaze as his face paled at those words. "After all, I do require all of god's power to have the same knowledge as God, do I not?" he asked pleasantly, before glancing over at Sandy.

"I don't care who you are, or where you came from, I'm not going to let that happen," Jack said, startling Edward as he stepped forward, his staff tightly gripped in his hands and ready to fight. "I don't know what the hell is going on here, and honestly, I could care less. In the end, I just want those teeth back."

Ed nodded towards Jack, clapping his hands together to transmute another weapon from the ground. Just as he was about to press them to the road, a Nightmare charged forward, knocking Edward over with its speed and making him roll over onto the ground. With a growl, Ed kicked out at it with his automail foot, sending the steel through the weak sand of the creature and destroying the flimsy leg it had to stand on.

Somewhat freed from his position on the floor, Ed used his arm to shove the horse off completely, getting back up with a glare as Jack began freezing another nightmare to the ground. Edward couldn't spot Sandy anywhere, and that was a bad sign. His gaze searched the swarm of Nightmares, before swearing and deciding he had no choice but to fight regardless of where the man was. He slammed his fist out into the mouth of one of the creatures, not really worried about the damage a sand horse could cause. The creature drew back its mouth, after biting down into the metal of Ed's arm and tearing through the fabric of his red coat. "Like the taste of that? Well, there's more where that came from!" Ed declared, using his other fist to strike at the horse's chest.

It was sent flying back, dispersing into the wind as Jack froze yet another nightmare to the ground. They were encircling both Jack and Ed, and now, they stood back to back against an entire swarm of those creatures. "You…take the ones on the left, I'll take the ones on the right?" Jack asked, his voice hesitant.

Ed grinned however, clapping his hands and pressing them to the ground. "Screw that crap, I'll just take them all!" Ed shouted, watching Jack's eyes widen as the entire street was torn apart. The pavement was sent flying into the air around them, rocks of all sizes penetrating the sand hides of the Nightmares and destroying them in seconds. The entire army vanished from sight in moments, showing just how weak these creatures truly were. "Man, those things are weak. I thought it'd take a bit more effort, they actually looked kind of tough," Ed commented, frowning as he rolled his shoulders out, glancing around for any sign of Sandy.

Finally, Ed spotted the guy, flying in the air on a bed of sand and fending off nightmares with shoots of golden sand. Below, Father was watching with a focused expression, carefully tracking Sandy's movements. Edward frowned at this, taking a step closer to the scene before his eyes widen, seeing a massive light illuminate the ground at Father's feet. A circle was there, and it had just been activated with Sandy flying right above.

The light surrounded Father, leaving him standing in the center as Sandy glanced down in confusion at the light. "No! You goddamn bastard, leave him alone!" Ed shouted, charging forward with his fist raised. A barrier of energy formed, stopping his fist and sending Ed flying back as it turned his own power against him. Edward didn't even notice that Tooth, Bunny, and North were here as well, fighting back with the sleigh in the air as he focused solely on Father.

Edward jumped back to his feet, not ready to give up just yet as he tried pushing forward again. At the same time, familiar shadows seemed to jump from the ground, reaching up to a startled looking Sandman. "No, damn it! You can't do this to him!" Ed shouted, watching as Jack only just noticed the problem. The winter spirit flew into the air, rushing towards Sandy suddenly. Before he could get far, Edward grabbed the back of the guy's staff, pulling it hard and forcing him back onto the ground.

"Hey! I've got to save Sandy, let me go!" Jack shouted, while Edward shook his head, his expression grim as he turned to glare at Father.

The man stared calmly back at Ed, as Sandy's body fell to the ground, looking completely uninjured as the nightmares flew away, rejoining Pitch wherever he had gone off to. "It's too late." Ed stated, watching the man in front of them. "I'm not going to let him stay like that, though."

Father frowned, glaring as Edward created a staff with his alchemy, taking only seconds to create the weapon before charging forward. "It is futile, how many times must I—" Father was saying, only to be knocked off of his feet by a sudden attack from behind. His shield had only been extended to protect his front, the side Edward was attacking, but Jack had flown around the homunculus to send a wave of ice towards his back.

"I figured out what went wrong back then." Edward commented with a smirk, seeing Father lose his balance and his grip on the red stone in his hand. Edward picked it up, holding it between his index finger and his middle finger tauntingly. "We gave you a warning. Surprise attacks work better if they are left unspoken, don't they?" he commented.

Father looked enraged, his eyes wide as he sent a wave of energy flying towards Edward. He quickly stumbled out of the way, dodging the blast that tore apart the street that was already scattered with rocks and rubble from Ed's own attack against the Nightmares. "Ed!" Jack shouted, seeing the boy in trouble as Father turned towards him again, ready for another attack.

"You should not have taken that away, boy! That stone is mine!" Father shouted, charging forward with an inhuman speed.

"Oh, crap!" Ed shouted, this time falling onto his stomach in his hasty dodge of Father's next attack. When Father came again, Edward blocked the punch with his automail arm. The homunculus didn't even flinch, while Ed focused on getting free from his grip. The stone was still locked tightly into his flesh hand, which he was slowly moving towards his pocket to hide the stone for now. Father pulled back his fist again, moving to punch Ed's face before the alchemist threw his head to the side, barely dodging the attack. As he did so, Edward kicked up his feet, slamming his metal leg into Father and this time actually forcing him off for just a moment.

That moment was all Ed needed to sit back up, getting onto his feet and preparing to continue their battle. Jack had flown off somewhere, and it was just the two of them. At least, that was what Edward thought. Just as he prepared to launch another attack, he felt something grab him from behind, arms hooking underneath his arms and pulling him into the air. Ed let out a small shriek as he noticed his body being pulled from the ground, his legs kicking about in the air as he fought to return to the floor and follow the rules of gravity that he understood, rather than the rules of the crazy magic these people used.

Behind him was Tooth, carrying him slowly over to the sleigh. His weight was dragging her down quickly, so it was a rush to get the sleigh underneath him in time to fly off. Edward glanced around, spotting Jack in the sleigh with Sandy, limp in his arms. "I…I don't know what…we couldn't…." he was saying, his voice panicking as he set the guy down on the ground.

"Sandy…what happened to him?" Bunny demanded, turning towards Ed. "You kept your secrets, and now look at where it got us! This is why we work together, mate. It keeps us safe, and helps prepare us for the future."

Ed glared right back at Bunny, standing in the sleigh and walking over to the angry Guardian. "None of this makes any difference!" he shouted, watching Bunny flinch in response, his ears flickering downward. "I didn't tell you about my past, so what? I knew full well what Father planned to do the last time he tried to gain God's power, and we still all lost," Edward insisted. "Knowledge doesn't mean crap, it just gives you a chance to be afraid of your future. If you think you're angry, look me in the face and tell me you hate him more than I do. That bastard took away the lives from everyone I knew, and if it weren't for him, I'd still have my brother by my side."

Edward sat back down, his legs pulled to his chest as he buried his expression into the black pants he always wore. The bangs of his hair brushed against his legs, as his eyes grew sad rather than angry in his seat in the sleigh. "Everyone, calm down! We will return to the Pole, and we will find a way to help Sandy," North declared, seeing the tension within the sleigh. No one else had anything to say, not even Bunny. They all stared at the sullen Edward, their expressions all sharing looks of worry and concern, with Bunny's expressing even more. His eyes were sad, following Ed's distant gaze into the night sky as his ears remained downward, his arm resting on the side of the sleigh as he said nothing more about the kid's past, or about what his secrets had done to the Guardian of Dreams.

 **So, I somewhat liked the idea of Pitch being Father's creation rather than Manny's, since it would somewhat explain his status as the enemy of the Guardians (even though I know it deviates from the books ROTG is actually based on. I still haven't actually read them, and this is fanfiction, so I do have some freedom for origin stories, right?). Either way, feel free to review and tell me what you think!**


	8. Alchemy

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Rise of the Guardians

Edward watched as Jack walked off, almost immediately after arriving in the workshop. He had pulled his hood over his head, and Ed knew that the guy would need some time to be alone for a while. Instead, Edward pulled out the red stone from his pocket, staring into the smooth red surface with a frown. It seemed to reflect the lights in the room, sending them shining in different directions as the beams hit the surface.

Tooth saw the item in Ed's hand and flew over to him, her hands fidgeting in front of her as she bit at her bottom lip, hesitating to speak. "Edward…" she began, before sighing, glancing over towards the stone again. "What is that?"

Edward frowned, letting the rock rest in his palm, holding it out for her to see. North and Bunny were behind her, coming closer out of interest. "A Philosopher's Stone," Ed replied, unsure of what else to say. Sandy's body lay unmoving on the floor, covered in a white blanket that the elves had fetched from somewhere within the workshop. He looked so peaceful, almost like he was asleep like all of the children he watched over.

Edward stared at Sandy, his hand slowly closing over the stone as he began to grimace, his head tilting forward and letting his bangs fall further into his face, almost covering his eyes. "That damn bastard, I didn't think he'd actually do it," Ed stated, while the others frowned and shared looks between themselves. "It was what he tried before, back at the Tooth Palace. He already has a stone, why does he need…?" Ed wondered, trailing off.

"Edward…I know you are worried about the dangers of your knowledge, but please, tell us what happened to Sandy," Tooth begged, sitting by his side with her knees folded underneath her. Ed continued rolling the stone around within his hand, his fist shaking slightly as he turned towards Tooth. His lips were turned downwards, and his eyes were focused as he took a deep breath, nodding towards her.

Edward noticed the others behind her now, seeing North and Bunny standing behind Tooth and waiting for an answer. "Yeah, I guess it can't do too much damage at this point, considering what seems to be Father's plan right now," Ed commented, running his empty hand through his hair. "I suppose I should start with the concept of alchemy," he began after a few moments.

"Alchemy? I've heard rumors of such a thing, I thought it was just a myth," North commented, glancing over at Bunny who nodded in agreement.

Bunny's arms were crossed over his chest, his eyebrows raised towards Ed. "Seriously, mate, you're basing this entire theory of yours on a non-existent art? We don't have time for these games, I say we just leave him and focus on stopping Pitch on our own."

Ed glared at Bunny, standing up and glaring at the tall creature. "If you do that, you'll all be like Sandy before the week's out," Ed insisted, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb towards Sandy's body. Tooth's hands moved to cover her mouth as she let out a slight gasp, while North took a step back, watching Ed silently. "Father used alchemy to do this to Sandy. Luckily for us, it is rather simple to reverse the process, but if you push me away and stop letting me help you, there won't be anyone around to help release your souls from the philosopher's stone."

"Wait, you're telling me Sandy's still alive?" Bunny asked, glancing over at the Guardian. Jack turned at this as well, his eyes wide as he stared at Ed. Slowly, the winter spirit got up and joined them, gazing over at Ed with his hood still pulled over his hair, leaning against his staff. "Why didn't you do something about that sooner?"

"Because all of you people keep interrupting me! Damn it, can't you just shut up and let me answer your first question?" Ed demanded angrily, his shoulders tensed as he scowled at the Guardians before him.

Bunny rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and stepping back silently while the others nodded in agreement. "Alchemy is the process of deconstructing and reconstructing matter. It is a science that takes years of practice and understanding to master," Ed began. "Still, it isn't all powerful. In order to gain something, something of equal value must be sacrificed in return. This concept is known as the Law of Equivalent Exchange, and there is only one method within alchemy that allows you to bypass it," Ed stated, holding up the red stone in his hand. "A Philosopher's Stone, capable of enhancing someone's alchemy to the point of ignoring the natural laws of the world. Creating one, however, requires human souls. This is what Father is trying to do, with all of us. He wants us to become a new Philosopher's Stone for him, so he can have enough power to break through the Gate of Truth and completely absorb God. Something got in his way last time, and I have a feeling that I know what that was," Ed explained, smiling somewhat as he finished.

North stroked his beard, staring at Ed with a frown. "Something was in the way? Could this be the other Guardian?" he questioned, while Tooth glanced up with wide eyes.

"Oh, this is so exciting! Who is he? Are you going to let us meet him soon?" Tooth asked, flying closer to Ed who backed away slightly, leaning away from her with a frown.

She continued looking at Ed hopefully, not noticing how his eyes grew distant and unfocused. His expression became even darker than before, as his arms fell to his sides, one of them loosely gripping the stone and the other just open. His gaze turned downward, not focusing on the others. Jack took a step closer to him, seeing the change in Ed's mood. "No, I don't think you will," he replied, his voice quiet and dark. "He's trapped, I failed him. I was supposed to get our bodies back, but all I did…well, I guess that is unimportant," Ed said, glancing back up to them.

Tooth's smile had faded, her gaze worried as she focused on Edward. Jack tried giving Ed a small grin, patting his arm, but Edward ignored it and watched as Bunny turned his gaze away, looking a bit guilty over his harsh words towards Ed. "His name is Alphonse, and he is my brother. I know he's still fighting on the other side for us. Even if it means helping that bastard, Al knows that anything is better than letting Father win," Ed stated at last, giving her a slight smirk.

"Suck up. Here I was, thinking you were with me on this whole 'too much work being a Guardian thing'," Jack commented, while Edward rolled his eyes. The winter spirit gave him a smile, walking a few steps away before jumping into the air, perching himself on his staff with a grin. "Still, I'm all for you doing some work, if it means getting Sandy back. So, just how does this alchemy of yours help us with that?"

Ed grinned, holding up the stone again and stepping back from the others. "Simple, really. It takes far more energy to trap a soul in one of these than it does to release it, especially since he's still alive," he informed them. Ed had seen his father do this before, and it had looked so simple, not even requiring an actual transmutation to influence the souls within. Closing his eyes, Edward reached out with his own spirit into the stone, trying to reach the voice that belonged to Sandy. Inside, Ed could hear only one voice, unlike stones similar to this. Still, it was just as strong and powerful as Greed or any of the others had been, those that had been created from the souls of thousands. There was something different about the Guardians, Ed realized, something that made their souls far more powerful than that of a normal person.

As soon as the warmth of Sandy's mind surrounded Ed, he felt a smile spread on his face. Even in his thoughts, the guy was as silent as ever, but Edward could push his soul slightly, influencing it to be released from the stone and returned to his real body. When Edward opened his eyes again, he was still holding the stone, which was slowly beginning to crack along the surface. Within a few seconds, the entire stone shattered in his grip, leaving his hand empty as he turned towards Sandy on the ground. "That should do it." Ed commented, feeling Jack, North, and Bunny come closer. Tooth was hovering in the air, moving closer to Sandy and hovering above his body instead.

Sandy's eyes were blinking open, his face frowning as he turned around towards the others. His gaze focused on Ed, with a look of confusion on his face as his sand moved to form an image over his head. As hard as he tried, however, his magic did not seem to act properly. Sand shifted and moved in the right direction, but it held no shape and stayed in a pool above him, rather than communicating his question. "Hey, take it easy, you idiot!" Ed shouted, rushing over to him and smacking Sandy's arm gently. "That transmutation nearly took your life, just rest for now. We'll need you later on for the final battle against Father."

Sandy nodded weakly, frowning as he let his head lean back down on the ground in North's workshop. "Bloody hell, you actually did it," Bunny commented, staring in disbelief at Sandy. "It seems like I owe you an apology. I didn't realize…I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that kind of treatment, not after the hell you must've seen when your home was destroyed."

Ed nodded in acknowledgement, while North nodded at them with a smile. However, Jack and Tooth were looking elsewhere, focused on a different room where a massive globe was slowly spinning, covered in golden lights that were slowly twinkling out on its surface. "Uh oh, that can't be good." Jack commented, glancing over at Tooth who gasped, glancing over at North.

"Look how fast they're going out!" she shouted, catching the attention of the Guardian of Wonder. Ed glanced over as well, frowning at the huge globe as he moved closer to study it. Even today, he could no longer find the country of Amestris on a globe, but he knew where it had once existed. Somewhere within Asia, near the border of the country now known as China was where he had once lived. Back then, he had known of China as the country of Xiang, and Russia was the large country known as Drachma to the north. All of that was forgotten now, lost to time due to the massive destruction Father left behind in his attempt to gain more power from other souls as he left that place.

Jack nodded in agreement, focused on the globe. "It's fear. He's tipped the balance," he insisted.

"Tipped what balance? What the hell is so important about some stupid lights?" Ed demanded, watching as North stepped closer, frowning at the globe.

"Each light on this globe represents a child, a child who believes," North stated, crossing his arms over his chest. Edward nodded, copying his movement and staring up at the globe.

"I see. So, without them, you'll all die, right?" Ed clarified, watching as North nodded gravely. "Man, this is so messed up. Even after meeting that bastard, I still don't understand his reasoning behind all of this crap," he insisted, gesturing to the others around him before running a hand through his hair.

"What do you mean? Edward, is there something else you aren't telling us?" Tooth asked, flying closer to him as he sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Not exactly, it's just hard to explain," Ed answered, before focusing on the globe once more. "All of you guys, the whole idea behind what you are just reminds me of these beings Father created, beings known as Homunculus. They were immortal, all of them created from a piece of Father's own essence and given life. All of them represented some aspect he wanted to get rid of, ranging from Greed to Envy," he began, watching as the others frowned. "These 'centers' you talk about, it just reminds me a lot of this. I've met the guy you all call the Man in the Moon, and he isn't all that friendly. He's the one that punishes those that break the rules of alchemy, but your very existence does just that. It just doesn't make any sense, tossing aside traits like wonder, hope, and dreams in order to create protectors for the world."

North stepped forward, patting Edward on the shoulder with a smile. "That's just it, Edward. We help Manny with his job, always fighting to keep the world free of fear and protecting those that need us most."

Ed frowned, gazing at the ground before slowly nodding. "I see. You are extensions of his power, and that is why Father is so interested in you. Your souls all contain a piece of Truth within you. If he manages to get all of you into a Philosopher's Stone, he will have the power necessary to overpower Al and take God's power for himself, this time all of it rather than just some of it," Ed explained, turning towards the others. "We can't let that happen. Our first step needs to be stopping Father's little helper, Fear, or Pitch as you call him. That means we need to get you guys stronger, so how are we getting more belief in the world for you?"

Bunny grinned, coming closer to them with a smile as he hopped in front of all of them. "I've got a plan. Easter is tomorrow, and with your help, I say we can pull out all of the stops. We'll get those little lights flickering again," he insisted with a smile, pointing back towards the globe behind him.

Ed nodded, following the others as they moved to crowd into the elevator and go up a floor. Edward was frowning inside, smushed up against Bunny and Tooth the entire time, but the others weren't much better off. This thing wasn't meant to hold so many people, and Ed was kind of glad Sandy was unable to help at the moment. With him on board, the thing might have broken from too much weight.

As soon as it stopped, Edward jumped out to free himself from the tight fit in the elevator. The others followed, with North smiling on board. "Bunny is right! As much as it pains me to say, old friend, this time Easter is more important than Christmas." he commented, moving on as Bunny began to grin.

"Hey, did everyone hear that?" Bunny clarified, glancing around towards the others. Jack grinned at him, while Edward scowled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Who cares? Both are holidays, there isn't much of a difference between them. For right now, we just need to hurry up and take care of the preparations for Easter," Ed said, watching as North and Bunny both froze, staring at Ed with wide eyes.

Bunny took one step closer, pointing over towards Ed. "What did you just say, mate? You can't be telling me that Easter is anything like giving out toys to kids," he insisted, sounding rather angry.

Ed raised an eyebrow at him, while North frowned as well. "Christmas is always better than Easter, today is just an exception," he argued, while Bunny frowned, staring at him with a look of anger.

"Hey, you say that one—" Bunny began, before North held his hand up, shaking his head.

"Enough, we must hurry to the Warren. Everyone, to the sleigh!" North insisted, while Jack grinned at them. The tension was still there, but North had shrugged it off with ease, focusing everyone once more on the mission they had planned.

Bunny shook his head and jumped in front of them all, stopping their path with a grin. "Oh no, mate. My Warren, my rules. Buckle up." With a tap of his foot against the floor, Ed felt the surface vanish beneath him. He heard a cry of some kind from North as they all fell into a hole, Ed letting out a slight shriek of surprise as he stumbled over onto his back to slide along the surface of the tunnels. It was dark and hard to see, but he could feel his arms being jostled around from collisions with others, most of them letting out screams of fear from the method of travel. Jack's laughter echoed around them, while the boy slid around the tunnels like they were a race track. Finally, they all exited in a heap, all of them in a pile with only Jack left on his feet. Ed lifted his head with a groan, hoping that the rest of this place would be better. After all, he would be spending some time here, if he wanted to help create Easter for the world. As he rose to his feet, Edward turned his face towards the blue sky above, determined to save these people here and stop Father from completing his plans.

 **I'm not certain how interesting this chapter was, but there had to be some place where Ed explained Alchemy to the Guardians...so here it is. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!**


	9. Defending Easter

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Rise of the Guardians

Ed wasn't sure what he expected from Bunny's home, but this certainly wasn't it. A large area, filled with lush green grass and dotted with colorful flowers surrounded him, completely taking away from the tough persona he associated with the oversized rabbit. As Bunny welcomed them to the Warren, Ed was staring with his jaw open at the sight of this place, unsure of what to make of the little eggs he saw running around, actually alive instead of just still objects used for making breakfast. They seemed to be emerging from a rock tunnel as well, and Edward wondered how Bunny had created such a thing without alchemy.

He was so lost in studying the place around him, Edward didn't notice the change in the atmosphere. Bunny's ears had gone down, reaching back towards his weapons and pulling out a pair of boomerangs as the others acted similarly. Jack tightened his grip on his staff while North unsheathed his swords, staring at the tunnel. Edward was run over in their stampede towards the tunnel, hearing their battle cry above him as they hurried to protect what was there only hope. Glancing up from his position on the ground, Edward glared at the sight of a little girl running from inside the tunnel, carrying some of the living eggs in her hands. "What the hell? Pay attention to where you're going, you idiots!"

Jack grinned at him, while the others quickly hid their weapons from the child staring at them with open-mouthed shock. Sophie quickly recovered, resuming her game by chasing around yet another egg that attempted to run from the child's open hands. "Cheer up, Ed. Besides, it's not like Sophie is going to do much damage around here," Jack commented, while Bunny began demanding to know how she got here in the first place.

Ed stared at the child, ignoring the conversation behind him. "That wasn't my point! You guys are insane, trampling your friend like that. If that's the kind of treatment I get as part of this little group of yours, you can count me out," Ed threatened half-heartedly.

Jack gave him a lopsided grin, shaking his head at the guy as Tooth flew to try and catch Sophie's attention. "We both know that isn't true, Ed. Unlike me, you're a Guardian at heart. You know where you came from, and even back then, you were fighting to protect others. Me….I still don't know who I am, and at this rate, I don't think I'll ever know." Jack's smile slowly faded, his gaze growing distant as Ed turned to look at him, his eyes a bit wider as he studied the winter spirit.

"It doesn't matter," Ed said after a few moments, making the boy glance over at him. "Whether you remember or not, Jack, you are still a decent guy. Don't let others push you around, and don't ever forget that it is important to fight for what you believe in. As long as you keep that in mind, you'll do fine regardless of what happens with your memories."

Jack nodded, giving Ed a small smile before his gaze turned towards Tooth, nearly laughing at the comment he had just overheard. Sophie ran away crying and screaming from the fairy who decided it would be brilliant to show the little girl some lost teeth. "Blood and gums?" Jack asked, while North shrugged behind Tooth. "When was the last time you guys actually hung out with kids?"

Ed stared at them, glad to see that the girl had at least recovered slightly from her interaction with Tooth. She was chasing an egg, before stopping in front of Edward, pointing at the guy who leaned back, his eyes wide and his body frozen at the sight of this kid. North was busy answering Jack's question, and Bunny was focused on him as well, so that left the kid and Ed away from their attention for the time being. "Alchmiss! Short, short short!" she shouted, while Ed glared at her, raising his fist in anger at the kid.

"Who are you calling short, you little toothless, brainless, brat!" Ed shouted, chasing after the girl who laughed at his words. Apparently, the kid had found his picture book sometime last night and read through it, but he forgot that so many people had mistakenly called him short throughout his life. As Sophie ran away from him, Ed tripped over one of the rocks hidden by moss within the grass, falling on his face as the girl giggled once more.

Ed lifted his head to glare at her, not noticing that Bunny was coming closer to catch her attention. "I'm gonna kill that little brat!" Ed shouted in anger, watching as she ran off with Bunny deeper into the Warren. Before long, the others began to follow and Ed sighed, having no other choice but to join them.

Deeper in this place, Ed saw even more impossible things. More white eggs ran around in alleys lined with huge tulip-shaped flowers. The plants hung over the pathway the eggs walked, spitting out puffs of color onto each egg and leaving them painted hues of blue, purple, yellow, orange, and red. Beyond the alley of flowers was a river, filled with shiny, purple liquid that would add even more paint to the eggs, before patterning them when falling through a stiff, green plant that coiled around the egg before dropping it safely onto the ground.

Walking around the path, Ed scowled as he tried to duck under the dusts of paint from the flowers, feeling them spray his red coat a few times. When he emerged at the other end, he did manage to stop before falling into the river. An elf was not so lucky, following the eggs into the river to be painted, but Ed did manage to catch up with the others at the end of this strange assembly line. As soon as he met up with them, Jack burst into laughter at the sight of the boy. His coat was coated with splotches of yellow, blue, and purple, with some orange smeared on his cheek. Luckily, it stayed away from his black pants and tank top, but he was forced to abandon his coat with a scowl of irritation at the winter spirit's laughter.

"You look ridiculous! Man, you are even worse than that elf of North's!" Jack stated, while Ed glared at him, stepping closer with his automail hand raised in a fist.

"Wanna say that again, Frost?" Ed stated, a slight threat in his voice. Still, he was grinning as well, watching as Sophie curled up in Bunny's arms and fell asleep. In front of them, a massive pile of eggs were waiting to be delivered to the surface. It seemed rather easy to prepare for Easter, however, there were just so many eggs that it seemed like a daunting task at first.

Jack glanced over at Ed, raising an eyebrow as he swung his staff over his shoulder. "I would, but it looks like I've got to take Sophie back home," he commented, pointing with his open hand towards the sleeping child.

Ed followed his gaze, seeing the little girl sleeping with Tooth fawning over her. Even North's expression softened at the sight of her sleeping. "Whatever. Just do it quickly, you never know when Father is going to strike back," Ed stated, his voice serious as Jack nodded in agreement.

Bunny handed the girl over to Jack, giving him a slight smile. "Get back here safe, you rascal. Some of us think you're needed around here," he commented, while Jack rolled his eyes, flying off with the girl sleeping in his arms.

Everything seemed far too quiet with them gone, no longer as rambunctious without them. "Alright, while we wait for him to come back, I think we should discuss our strategy," Ed began, watching as the others glanced over at him.

"Strategy? What strategy, mate? We've been doing this for centuries, I think we know how to protect children," Bunny commented, standing up and glaring over at Ed.

Ed nodded, not arguing with him about that. "Of course, and if it was just Pitch, I'd say you'd be fine without a strategy," he insisted. "Father is more of a challenge, however. He can produce an impenetrable shield with just a thought, and attack without even blinking an eye. Unlike most alchemists, he can transmute without even moving, and that makes him dangerous as our enemy."

North stepped forward, stroking his beard as he frowned. "Just how do you attack him? Everyone has a weakness, and no matter how strong he is, we will be here to fight him." he insisted.

Ed nodded, glancing behind him towards the scattered tunnels that lead to the surface. "You wear him out. Even a Philosopher's Stone is limited to how much energy it can provide. We have to force him to deplete his energy, then he'll finally give his own exchange for that power he sought so long ago." Ed ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes and turning up slightly to the sky. "That's the worst part, though. When his energy is gone, he'll lose control of his power. It will be wild and unstoppable, and while he may be weak at that time, we will also be vulnerable to the lashing out of his power."

"Are you sure there isn't another way?" Tooth asked, flying a bit closer to Ed. "It sounds dangerous, especially if he's near any of the children."

Edward shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest as he frowned. "I wish there was, but he's nearly made himself unstoppable at this point." Ed told them. "I died trying to stop him before, along with the entire army of Amestris."

Bunny hopped closer as well, his nose twitching as he frowned at Ed. "Just because you died, doesn't mean we'd do the same. Have some trust in us, we'll find a better way to stop him."

Edward closed his eyes, his eyebrows angling themselves lower on his face as his hand pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let me tell you something, Bunny. You can't gain something without sacrifice, it just isn't possible. If you want to win this battle, you have to be prepared to lose something in return. There isn't a single war in history that passed by without casualties, so don't expect this to be any different."

Bunny stepped forward, looking ready to say something else when something shuddered deep in the tunnels. All of them turned, seeing the eggs running from them once more, the same sight that had put the Guardians on edge when they first came to the Warren. Bunny sniffed the air, pulling out his boomerangs again as North prepared his swords. Edward clapped his hands together, creating a spear from the rock beneath the grass at his feet to fight with. Gripping it with two hands, Ed walked forward, prepared to fight whatever was about to come through the tunnels.

He heard a cracking sound, a sign that some of the eggs had not been quick enough in their attempt to flee from whatever was coming inside. A whinny echoed throughout one of the tunnels, making Ed spin towards his right, focusing on the tunnel just beside him. All he could see within was a pair of glowing yellow eyes, but he knew exactly what that meant. "Nightmares! Everyone, get ready!" Ed shouted, watching as the creature charged forward, emerging from the tunnel. Ed pierced through it with his spear, dispersing the sand with ease as more came in from the other tunnels.

North took Ed's place in front of the center tunnel, his swords slashing out at each creature that came his way. They seemed to be ignoring the Guardians, their entire focus on the eggs. This made it easier to destroy them, but it also meant they could not let a single nightmare pass. These creatures would not stop to fight, not if they had the chance to destroy their targets.

To the left of North was Bunny, his boomerangs in hand and being thrown as quickly as possible. He would release one with his left hand, and wait to see it returning before releasing his second boomerang from his right hand. With each throw, he destroyed three Nightmares, but this army seemed endless.

Tooth was fighting on her own, kicking out with her feet as she flew through the air nimble around the army. Her fists alone were enough to destroy the creatures, punching through their sides and leaving them too weak to stay whole any longer.

Even with all of them in place, protecting every tunnel from the surface, it wasn't going to be enough. Edward could see that, feeling his own body wearing out from excess fighting. He spun around again, stabbing his spear through yet another Nightmare behind him, before seeing that one was just about to get by. Quickly, Ed jabbed the handle of his spear through the one behind him, destroying it only to see four more right in front of him, moving to trample him over to get to the eggs. He slashed out with his spear, trying to destroy them, but it seemed like these things could learn too. One of them grabbed the spear in its mouth, biting down hard and yanking it away from Ed, tossing it deep into the tunnel as it moved to run past Ed.

Desperate for a way to stop them, Ed clapped his hands together for a transmutation. He had no idea what he was going to do, no idea how this would work, but he had to try. He pressed his hands against the hide of the Nightmare, hoping that some miracle would happen and he would discover a way to use alchemy without comprehending the matter within. His eyes slammed shut, prepared to feel the hooves of the monster on his skin as the transmutation failed. That prevented him from seeing the blue sparks dancing around his hands, encircling the nightmare and transforming the horse into a dark black spear, immobile and solid in Ed's grip.

Without even pausing to think about what had just happened, Ed spun back towards the Nightmares that had broken past him, towards the eggs. A few had already been smashed, now just colorful pieces of shell on the ground as Edward slammed his new weapon into the creatures. Sand flew from them as Edward stabbed through one of the creatures, turning quickly to attack yet another that had broken past his guard. As he turned, he froze at the sight of North in front of him, his sword stabbed through one of the horses with a grin. "Careful, you aren't alone here, Edward," he commented with a smile, before moving on to more nightmares.

Ed smirked at that, moving quickly to disperse more of them. Even so, it seemed as if a few had broken past Tooth's tunnel, swarming the supply of eggs once more and shattering more eggs. That had led to holes in their guard, as the Guardians struggled to destroy the Nightmares within the Warren. More Nightmares broke in, through the tunnels that had been guarded by Ed, Tooth, and North. Only Bunny remained to hold off extra intruders, but he alone was not strong enough to keep this onslaught of enemies at bay, coming from four different directions.

Ed got another idea, dropping his weapon as North stepped in front of him once more, his dual swords slashing out at the Nightmare he had been aiming for. If he wasn't useful fighting these things, then he would work on preserving the eggs. Clapping his hands together, Ed pressed them to the ground, covered in colorful shells. Slowly, the eggs near him began to reform, returning to their painted forms while North continued fighting on. Tooth saw what he was doing and gave him a thumbs up, before glancing back with a startled look as one of the Nightmares bit out at her arm. Using her other arm, Tooth punched the creature directly in the face, sending it flying backward and releasing her arm. She flew in closer to finish it off, while Ed moved on to another pile of smashed eggs.

More Nightmares got in his way, but Ed already knew how to deal with this. Not even bothering with clapping this time, Ed pressed his hands to the snout of one of the creatures, watching as blue sparks danced along its snout. It seemed like Truth really had given him some gifts when he had been chosen for this job, and Ed grinned as the creature was transformed once more. The black sand around it turned gold, a manta ray flying around the Warren just like he had seen Sandy make.

Ed did the same thing with another Nightmare, this time transforming it into a unicorn like he had seen Cupcake dreaming about. A few more were turned into candy canes and carrots, making him grin as they danced through the air towards North and Tooth. They were ignoring the golden sand, focused on their own battles as Ed finally knelt down again to repair more eggs. As he did so, he felt something kick his back, sending him flying forward into the grass, face first. With a grimace, he kicked out blindly behind him, feeling his foot collide with something solid as he pushed himself off the ground, spinning around to face his enemy. Another Nightmare had attacked him, breaking through past Bunny to attack.

Glancing back towards the tunnels to the surface, Ed could see just how hard the rabbit was struggling. He continually threw his boomerangs down different tunnels, and when both were in the air, he would throw these strange egg-like objects, covering a tunnel with smoke and blinding the Nightmares at least temporarily. He seemed to have some type of allies now, massive stone eggs by his sides that moved slowly. Still, they were powerful and could take out a Nightmare with one blow, but even that was not enough. Their lack of speed left weaknesses that they were unable to handle, and that meant plenty of Nightmares were getting through.

"To the tunnels! Get those eggs to the surface, before it's too late!" Bunny shouted, clearing a small path within one of the tunnels using a throw of his boomerang. Ed watched, and as soon as the weapon was back in Bunny's grip, he charged forward. Tooth and North were not far behind, taking out the Nightmares chasing after Ed and his supply of eggs to guard. He did have to admit, it was the strangest thing he had ever fought to protect, but he was determined not to fail.

Bunny was hopping along behind Ed, prepared to keep the path clear with his weapons. "Keep it up, Bunny, things are going to get rough in here!" Ed shouted to him, watching the rabbit grin. He threw his weapon out, taking out another small groups of Nightmares in front of them, but another five came rushing forward, ready to destroy the eggs beneath Ed's feet. He reached out quickly to destroy one of them, but he couldn't keep them all away. Bunny's boomerangs slashed through two, but two more got through and managed to stomp out the eggs underneath Ed.

"Leave my googies alone!" Bunny shouted, sending his other boomerang directly through them, holding his hand out to catch it as it returned. He was glaring at the sight of destroyed eggs, while Ed knelt down and pressed his palm to the grass.

"Keep them off of me for a moment!" Ed told him, quickly repairing the eggs with his alchemy. Bunny saw the transformation, his eyes widening before giving Ed a grin, nodding and running forward again.

Tooth managed to catch up first, flying in by Ed's side. "We have to hurry, Easter is starting soon!" she insisted, making Ed realize just how long they had been fighting for. The entire day was almost gone, and it was now Sunday morning. If they didn't move quickly, it wouldn't matter if the eggs were whole or not. They simply wouldn't be there before kids lost belief in Easter, and in Bunny.

"Bunny, keep the path clear! I'll focus on keeping the eggs together, the rest of you take care of the Nightmares!" Ed ordered, preparing to run as fast as possible through this army of magical creatures. Tooth nodded, flying ahead into the swarm in front of them in the tunnel, taking out a few before Bunny threw his boomerang into the crowd, dispersing a few more. "We are going to make sure Easter goes on, we have to!"

"Wait, what about Jack? He is supposed to be coming back soon," North asked, shouting from behind as he sliced his swords through another Nightmare, coming up from behind them.

Ed glanced back, shaking his head as he moved forward. "We don't have time, he'll find us and help out if he gets the chance! We have to focus on this as if we were alone, don't plan on relying on people who aren't here!"

North nodded, finishing the last of the Nightmares coming from within the Warren and moving to the front, side by side with Bunny as he lashed out with his swords. Bunny threw out another egg bomb, clouding their vision. Edward ignored the lack of vision and ran directly into the smoke, focusing on the pounding of his legs against the ground to keep himself going straight. Before long, he came out on the other end, next to Tooth as she spun around and landed another kick on a Nightmare, destroying it as North and Bunny ran to catch up from behind.

Their plan seemed to be working rather effectively, now with only one path to block rather than four. All four official Guardians fought side by side to destroy the Nightmares, while Edward repaired any eggs broken from the few of the horses that broke through their defense. Still, their progress was slow, and Ed realized just how slow it had been when the entire crowd of Nightmares froze, their gazes turning towards one of the rock walls to Ed's left for a few moments. As if hearing a voice none of the others were aware of, they all moved to flee the tunnels, trampling over a few of the eggs as a few straggling Nightmares fled from within the Warren.

Ed ducked, covering his head with his arms as the creatures flew over his head. The others reacted similarly, while Bunny threw one last boomerang at them with a glare, sniffing the air and glancing around the others. "They're gone?" North asked, looking just as confused as the others. Ed glanced around at the destroyed eggs, kneeling down to repair them before he closed his eyes, glaring at them and simply slamming a fist into them instead.

"Damn it!" he shouted, running forward without fear to the exit of the tunnel. "That god damn bastard, he tricked us! All he wanted to do was delay us," Ed shouted, hearing the thumping pattern of Bunny's hops approaching behind him.

"No….we're too late. We can't be…I…I've still got some eggs left!" Bunny shouted, pulling out a basket from under his arm. Ed glanced at it, stepping aside with a frown, his eyes closed as his head tilted downward. He didn't pay attention to the way Bunny hopped around from child to child, trying to give them an egg, only to discover that he was no longer seen. All he knew was that they had failed, that he had failed. Once again, it seemed like he was powerless against Father, even with more gifts than ever before.

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**


	10. Madness

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of FMA or ROTG

Ed moved deeper into the tunnels, not wanting to watch Bunny's breakdown or listen to the Guardians blame him for this failure. It had been his plan, choosing to run and protect the eggs, but it wasn't fast enough. Surely, there had been another way to clear a path quicker, maybe by carrying egg shells to the surface and repairing them there. He hadn't thought of it soon enough though, and because of his own stupidity, Easter was gone.

Ed leaned back against the rock wall of the tunnel, letting himself fall down to the ground and pull his knees into his chest. His head moved to fall into his legs, his arms wrapped around them and keeping himself tightly pulled into a ball. "Edward Elric, it seems as if you have not fared well," a voice called out, walking calmly through the tunnels.

Ed glanced upward, glaring at the sight of Father within this place. He quickly placed his hand on the sand on the ground, transmuting the dead Nightmares into a black spear once more. Ed through it towards Father, watching as he calmly produced his shield once more, deflecting the weapon with ease. "Such a troublesome brat, I really am tired of you interfering," he commented, before smiling at Ed. "That is why you are going to do something for me, just as your Colonel did so long ago. You are going to perform human transmutation again, and this time, you will lose enough to render you useless to those Guardians."

Ed glared at Father, quickly transmuting a throwing dagger this time from mere sand on the ground. This way, he could make more with less material, and draw out more of Father's energy. That was his plan as he threw one of them at Father, creating another in seconds and moving to throw it again before Father came closer, punching Ed hard in the chest and sending him flying back into the rock wall of the tunnel. "Enough of this," he insisted, kneeling down in front of Ed with a frown. "You see, it is quite simple. Your brother is still over there, and if you don't bring him back now, I will find a way to take his power as well."

Ed's eyes narrowed, giving Father a slight smirk. "Ha, like that's possible! Al is safe and sound, trapped behind the Gate of Truth. Not even you are strong enough to get his body out, without something of equal value to trade away."

Father smiled right back, laughing slightly at Ed's words. "Oh? You are forgetting, Edward, I am in the process of absorbing his power," he said. "If Alphonse truly is trapped within the Gate, I will absorb Al along with God, and become all-powerful, with absolutely no one capable of stopping me."

Ed stared at Father with wide eyes, slowly rising to his feet. "No…it can't…you can't…Al!" he shouted, shoving his way past Father. He didn't care if it was a trap, it was far to close to being a reality. Father's words made sense, and if Truth vanished, Ed would lose every last chance he had of getting his brother back. Not caring about the consequences, Ed began to transmute the sand once more, forcing it into a new shape on the ground. A human transmutation circle was formed, made of black dream sand, and Ed stood at the edge of it.

Father smiled in the darkness of the tunnels, walking away silently as Ed got to work. He crouched down, not hearing the sound of Bunny charging back into the Tunnels with the Guardians at his sides. As Ed pressed his hands to the circle, Bunny arrived, seeing the massive circle come to life with blue sparks dancing across the ground. "What have you done, mate? What is this mess?" he demanded, while Ed turned back with wet eyes, tears on his cheeks.

"I'm getting my brother back, I don't care what it takes," Ed stated, feeling the black tendrils wrap around his arms again. The circle was changing again, looking dark and terrifying as it dragged Ed into the center, pulling him beyond the Gate and into another world once more. However, as Ed rose to his feet, he was not greeted like normal by Truth. Instead, he stood in an empty white room, before nothing but a massive stone door, decorated with what looked like a huge tree and writing.

Ed stepped closer to the Gate, frowning as he pressed his palm against its surface. It seemed to react to his action, the door shuddering open and taking Ed in as he gasped in surprise, struggling to turn around as he realized his mistake. It was too late, however, and he was drawn inside. He was expected to be assaulted by images of all kinds, overwhelmed with immense knowledge that the mind could not comprehend in such a short period of time.

That did not happen, however. He simply floated along in darkness, the images traveling elsewhere within this place. Ed was brought along with the flow of them, until he stood in front of a strange sight within the Gate. Truth was here, his white figure ensnared within the Gate by the same shadowy tendrils that had dragged Ed inside. They seemed to have merged with his very self, entrapping him within as a smile appeared on his face. Right next to him, however, was what had caught more of Ed's attention. Al was trapped as well, just as ensnared in the shadowy grips of the Gate as Truth was.

Al's eyes opened weakly, looking distant and foggy as he frowned. "Br-brother? Is…I think I remember…yes, I had…you were…Brother…." he muttered, leaving Ed staring at him with wide eyes.

"Al….what the hell happened to you?" Ed demanded, grabbing his shoulders only to see that he could not move Al an inch from this spot.

Al blinked a few times, glancing around himself with a frown. "What…happened?" he repeated. "I…can't remember…only darkness…too much….pressure, knowledge…it hurts…please, save me….Brother….he will…." Al's mutterings became even more and more inconsistent as he went on, his breathing quickening as his eyes darted around fearfully. After a few more moments of near hyperventilation, the boy passed out in the darkness, right in front of Ed who had no words for what Al had just stated.

"Hello again, Alchemist, it has been quite some time," Truth stated from his position, where he had been silently watching the interaction between the two brothers.

Ed glared at Truth, floating around in this strange space without seeing much of anything. "You again, I had hoped to never see your sorry face again," he began, before glancing over at Al. "What did you do to him?"

Truth's smile vanished from sight, his head the only thing capable of motion as he glanced upward towards Ed. "Nothing at all. This was our agreement. He wished to gain freedom, and in order to gain that freedom, I required his assistance."

Ed glanced over at Al, a look of sheer terror on his face. "Father…Al did this, because I couldn't stop…."

Truth nodded, glancing over at Al as well. "Indeed, he held on quite strongly at first. Few can withstand the knowledge within the Gate for long, most go insane after just hours. He made it almost a year before coming to this state. However, time and repeated attacks from Father have left even this domain weak. Already, the streams of knowledge are fading away, and if he is not stopped soon, there will be no saving either of us. So, what will you do about it, Alchemist?"

Ed closed his eyes, his arms shaking at his sides as he clenched his hands into fists. "I…I can't…I'm not strong enough…." Ed said hopelessly, aware of just what he had to do.

"Is that so? I imbued you with my own strength, Edward Elric, along with enhancing your alchemical abilities. As I'm sure you've noticed, my Guardians are designed to be extensions of my power, maintaining balance when I am incapable of doing so. You have now joined their ranks, Alchemist, and just like all other things, that gift comes with a price," Truth explained, a smile returning to his white face.

Ed stared at it, slowly nodding in agreement. "You promise, once Father is gone, you will bring Al back?" Ed clarified, watching as Truth nodded, his grin widening further.

"Of course. After all, this world still needs its seventh Guardian," Truth insisted.

Ed glanced over at Al, wondering just how much work would be needed to bring him back to the brother Ed once knew. "He will not remember a thing about this place. He did not pay the price for such knowledge. After all, it would rather defeat the purpose of making him the Guardian of Kindness, if he was this creepy all the time."

Ed nodded, giving Al a smile as he reached over, squeezing the sleeping man's weak shoulders. "Yeah, I guess it would," Ed pulled his hand back, feeling himself being pulled out already. "I'll see you soon, Al, I promise."

Truth glanced over at him, smiling. "Be glad there isn't a price for your visit, Alchemist. Only my Guardians may enter this place without paying the price, though you are the only one brave enough to try."

Ed rolled his eyes at the man, watching the Gate slam shut and throw him back out on the ground. He could feel the grass underneath his hands, and as he sat up, Ed noticed a small crowd around him. North was leaning over his body, looking worried as Tooth hovered next to him. As Ed glanced around, he frowned for a few moments, before his eyes widened at the sight by his feet. Bunny was there, but he looked nothing like before. This rabbit was tiny, short and weak compared to the six foot tall rabbit Ed was used to."Ed, you're back!" Tooth shouted, flying closer and giving him a sudden hug.

Ed stumbled back, a bit surprised by her sudden affection. The girl backed off quickly, giving him a sheepish smile as North leaned back, sitting down next to Ed. "What happened? We could not get to you, and none of us understood what you had done." North asked.

Ed nodded, glancing down at the circle underneath him. "I'll explain on the way. We need to stop Father, and do it fast. There is no way in hell I'm leaving my brother in that place a moment longer, we're stopping Father and defeating him now."

The others gazed at Ed with looks of worry and confusion. "How do you expect us to do that, mate? Belief is gone, it won't be long before we are too," Bunny insisted, glaring at Edward.

The Fullmetal Alchemist smirked at him, getting to his feet as he stretched out his shoulders, rolling them as he moved to leave. "Belief isn't everything in the world. It's time you learned to stand strong on your own two feet, just like I have. Trust me, I've got plenty of strength for us all, and its time we used it to our advantage."

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**


	11. Fullmetal Guardian

**Disclaimer:** I am not the owner of Rise of the Guardians or Fullmetal Alchemist

One snow globe later and the Guardians were back at North's workshop, ready to grab the sleigh and leave for their final battle. "We need to hurry, before you guys lose the last of your power," Ed stated, walking quickly into the center of the workshop, staring up at the massive globe in the room. "If we plan this out correctly, we should be able to get some belief back before the final battle."

North followed his gaze, frowning as he studied the globe. "I see, but where do we begin? Spreading belief is not as easy as you might think, Edward. Easter is done with, and it is no where near another holiday that we can use." he commented, but Ed was smirking, shaking his head at the man.

"Who cares when the next holiday is? All we need is a story, one to spread around the world." he insisted, watching the globe rotate in the room. Slowly, the surface turned towards them, revealing one area of the map that still held a few lights on the surface. They were dying out quickly, but it was the only place they had to start with. "I did it myself, to test if it would work out. That little girl from before, she found my book and she learned enough to believe in me after reading it."

Bunny raised his eyebrows at Ed, standing on his back legs with his arms crossed over his chest. Before, it had looked a little intimidating to see him like this, but now, it just looked ridiculous. "You've got to be kidding me, mate! Are you seriously telling us to rely on some…children's story to gain belief?"

Ed nodded, confident in his plan as he began moving around the globe, passing through a door on the other side of the room and into the area Ed had first been in when he was greeted by the Guardians. "Do you have a better plan?" Ed asked, turning his head back to glance at Bunny. The Guardian of Hope frowned, letting his legs drop back to the ground as he turned his gaze away from Ed uncomfortably.

The Guardians followed Ed into the room, slowly stepping closer to the place where Sandy still rested on the ground. The Guardian of Dreams didn't look any better than before, his eyes open but still frowning as he attempted to sit up. His weakness became clear when even this simple task became a struggle, his arms pushing his body upward only for him to fall back down onto his back. "Sandy, are you alright?" Tooth asked, flying over to him with concern in her eyes. She wasn't quite as steady as normal, taking a slight dip towards the floor on her path to Sandy before recovering ever so slightly. She let herself land, kneeling down towards her fellow Guardian and wrapping her arm around his shoulders, helping Sandy sit up so he could stare at the others.

Above Sandy's head, a slightly hazy image formed. It looked circular, almost like he was attempting to create an image of a globe. He pointed over towards the other room as well, realizing his sand was falling apart and scattering, not quite under his control. With a frown on his face, he turned towards Ed who nodded, a grim expression on his face as he knelt in front of Sandy. "Yeah, belief's fading away quickly. We're going to change that, though, and to do that, we need to get you back to your job." he stated, watching as Sandy continued frowning.

The Guardian of Dreams turned towards North and Bunny, who were standing behind Jack, with a frown. An image of Pitch appeared above his head, followed by an egg and a rabbit. "Easter's gone, mate. If it weren't for that bloody rascal Jack Frost, none of this would have happened. He left us, when we needed him most, just to mess around with Pitch. I wouldn't be surprised if he's allied with Pitch now." Bunny insisted darkly, scowlingas he looked down at the ground.

North frowned, shaking his head at Bunny. "Bunny, be nice! Jack was taking Sophie home, we cannot blame him for the loss of Easter, regardless of how tragic it may be. Perhaps there was a reason for his visit with Pitch. We did not give him the chance to explain in the park."

"North's right, we don't have time to worry about Frost. You all saw the globe. Those lights are dying fast," Ed said, crouching down by Sandy with a slight smile. "We've got to move, so we can start spreading our story out as much as possible. Sandy, you're in charge of delivering them through dreams, I'll get it out through paper. Before the night's out, I'll make sure we're all strong enough to fight. Then, we'll stop Father and Pitch, and I'll get my brother back."

Tooth glanced over at Ed, her eyes wide as she frowned. "Your brother? I thought…didn't you say he was helping Manny on his own?" she asked, while Bunny hopped a little closer, his nose twitching slightly.

Ed glanced away, gazing at the ground as his hands formed fists by his sides. "I payed him a visit, and I found out that the price for protecting that bastard is far too high," Ed insisted, his voice quiet as his shoulders began to shake. "Al…he's fighting with all of his might just to keep that bastard free from Father's grasp….and now, he can't even…he hardly recognizes me. That place is a nightmare, and the longer he stays there the more he loses. I can't leave him there any longer, and that's why we're stopping Father tonight, so he can finally come home."

Ed felt a large hand land on his shoulder, making his gaze turn upward and to his left, seeing North standing just behind him. There was a slight smile on his face, and sympathy was clear in his eyes. "We will save him, Edward, I promise you. Your brother is Guardian, after all, and we look after each other along with the children of the world."

Ed took a shaky breath, trying to steady himself as he released some of the tension out of his hands, unclenching them slightly. "Good, then let's get going. The sleigh is our fastest method of travel, and based on the pattern of falling belief I saw on the globe, our best bet of finding a believer left is to go back to where we started all of this," Ed insisted.

Tooth continued helping Sandy walk along, while Ed rushed to lead them all to the sleigh. He did not hesitate to jump inside, taking a seat up in the front of the sleigh next to North, who would be steering the vehicle through the skies. The man smiled over at Ed, once again looking like he was trying to give Edward a brighter outlook on their future. Instead of responding, Ed simply turned away and focused his gaze on the icy walls of the tunnel containing the sleigh, letting North finish the preparations for takeoff.

Ed felt the sleigh move forward, pulled by the reindeer deeper into the tunnel as North did his best to control it. However, unlike last time the ride seemed unsteady. They picked up speed quickly, but the sleigh was rocking side to side, and it slammed back into the ground after its initial takeoff, leaving Ed stumbling around inside of the vehicle. It rose into the air once more, this time actually managing to stay in flight before North threw one of his globes, opening a portal to Burgess for them to travel through.

Even with the portal, it was not enough to stabilize the sleigh. It shook in the air, and Ed was alarmed as he gazed out over the edge, seeing the ground rapidly approaching them. The reindeer spun out of control, slowly diving towards the ground as they lost altitude, all of them being thrown about in the sleigh as North fought against the reigns for control. A loud crash echoed in Ed's ears as they slammed into the ground, sliding along the street before North lost his grip on the reigns, the reindeer running off into the night as he stumbled around in the sleigh, slowly walking out of it and onto the ground.

Tooth tried to fly over to him, catching the large man as he nearly fell over onto the ground. "North, are you okay?" she asked, worry in her voice as she stayed by his side.

Ed moved to help Sandy out of the sleigh, running a hand through his hair once they were on the ground. "Looks like this is going to take some work." Ed commented, hearing North's comment about the failure of his powers. Belief was almost gone now, if even North couldn't fly his sleigh. "Sandy, we're going to need your dreams in action now."

Sandy frowned, holding his hands out to Ed. In his palms, Ed saw a few scattered pieces of sand gather, before fading away almost immediately. Sandy seemed to try again, focusing even harder as his brows furrowed and he leaned over his palms. A slightly larger pile of sand formed, but even that was tiny in comparison to Sandy's usual strength. It vanished once more in just a few seconds, leaving Sandy shaking his head and staring up at Edward with worry in his gaze.

"Not you too. Damn it, this whole plan relied on your sand working! How are we supposed to gain belief if children are too busy sleeping to read my stories?" Ed demanded, growling under his breath as he shoved his hands into his pockets, focusing on the town around him. His gaze moved along the various houses, searching for something that just might help him. Eventually, he saw something, a familiar white haired boy walking towards them with a kid by his side.

Tooth was the first to rush forward to greet him, however her struggle was obvious. As she attempted to fly, her wings seemed to fail her, leaving her on the ground and stumbling towards him. "Jack!" she cried, stumbling around to her feet as Edward moved closer to him, realizing just how few people here were capable of fighting.

"You okay?" Jack asked, watching as Tooth brushed back some of her feathers, avoiding his gaze.

Ed crossed his arms over his chest, focusing his gaze on the winter spirit. "So, it's just us, huh?" Ed asked, watching as Jack frowned. His gaze flickered to the others behind Ed, seeing North leaning on his sword as a crutch while Sandy sat on the ground, his palms held before his face as he frowned, trying his hardest to create even a small speck of sand in his hands. "I don't have time to explain, but I want to make sure one thing is clear. This is your last chance to prove that you can take something seriously for once. I need someone who can fight by my side, and I need to know if I can trust you." Ed continued staring at the winter spirit as he spoke.

Jack blinked at him, his gaze slowly flickering around across the others before returning back towards Ed. "Hey, back off! Jack's awesome, he made it snow in my room! What can you do that's so—wait, you can't be…." the kid stated, stepping out from behind Jack. At first, he had just started speaking as if Ed was a normal guy, but now, Jaimie's eyes were widening, his hand losing its grip on the stuffed rabbit that he had been holding when he first came out. "You're the guy from the book I found in my room! I can't believe it, the Fullmetal Alchemist is actually in my yard right now!"

Ed scowled in response, pushing the kid out of the way as he focused on Jack. "Yeah, yeah, it's amazing. Now, beat it kid, I've got bigger problems to deal with," he insisted, but Jaimie was far too insistent. Tooth was watching with a look of shock in her eyes, while North's gaze glanced upwards to watch the scene with interest.

"Wait, is there a philosopher's stone here? I can't believe it, you and Al are both here, looking for the final key to—" Jaimie was saying, but Edward glared at him, shoving a gloved hand over the kid's mouth to shut him up as he faced down the boy. Looking at the kid, Ed decided he was about as tall as Pride had been, but it was strange facing someone shorter than him nonetheless.

"I said shut up!" Ed growled, glaring at Jaimie before Jack moved to pull the kid back, frowning over at Ed. "Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have made that stupid book. Who cares about being seen? Now I've got a kid running around demanding to know about dangerous things like the Philosopher's stone."

"Hey, calm down. We've still got time, besides, you should be glad." Jack stated, while Ed frowned. "It took me centuries to finally get a believer, and Jaimie's one of the best kids I've met in my life. He can be a lot of fun in a snowball fight."

Sighing, Ed shook his head and turned away, gazing up towards the sky. "Right, I don't have time to be upset. Jack, it's up to us to get belief back for the others. They can't fight because they've already agreed to pay the price and become Guardians, but that doesn't mean we can't."

"I see you've returned, Fullmetal," a voice called out, approaching their group from further down the street. Father was smiling, his arms hanging loosely by his sides. "I suppose I was hoping you'd lost something more, though. Just what was your price?" he asked, while Ed scowled, turning to face him with Jack by his side. Jaimie was pulled back by Tooth, towards the sleigh where the other Guardians were still waiting.

"That's my business, you ugly bastard. I'm here to stop you, and there's no way I'm going to fail this time." Ed insisted, watching as Father frowned at him, sighing as the shadows around them seemed to ripple.

"Is that so? Well, it seems as if there is one stubborn little child who refuses to see reason." Pitch called out, appearing by Father's side with a dark smile. Anger shot across Jack's features, his grip changing on his staff as he angled it towards the man with a glare. "Only one child left, one child that still believes with all of his heart that the Guardians are real. They've never been weaker than they are now, and that means there is nothing stopping Father from taking their power for himself. Once that is done, I'll be able to free myself from my invisibility with his power, and finally be seen by the world."

Ed smirked at him, pressing his palm to the street as he transmuted a hand from the ground, sending a fist of rock flying towards Pitch. The man quickly dodged to the side, with Father taking one small step away as well to avoid the blow. "That has got to be the stupidest plan I've ever heard of! Just get rid of your Philosopher's Stone, then you'll be seen just like anyone else."

Pitch glared at Ed, rushing forward suddenly and lashing out with a scythe of darkness. Ed ducked, dodging his first attack as he threw his legs into the air, one of them kicking Pitch's chin and sending the man back ever so slightly. His focus remained on Ed, however, still aiming to attack again. "Foolish boy, you understand so little. That would mean losing my power, losing the ability to be feared by the world, and I just can't do that. After all, fear is the only thing I've known for years, and it is the only thing I still have that tells me who I am."

"Just because you know the fears of others, doesn't mean you can control them." Jack stated, stepping forward and sending a wave of his frost towards Pitch. Pitch glared at it, countering with a cloud of darkness that pushed past the frost, swallowing it and colliding with Jack. The winter spirit was sent flying back onto the ground, groaning slightly as the darkness faded away.

Ed glanced over at him, his grimace tightening as he quickly transmuted a spear from the ground to counter Pitch's scythe. Tooth was rushing to Jack's side, leaving Jaimie behind with North. "I may not control your fear, but I do still know what everyone fears most. Edward, do you truly think this will bring your brother back?" Pitch taunted, while Ed's glare harshened, his spear swinging out towards Pitch. Pitch dodged, moving to the side as he swung out with his scythe. Edward quickly blocked the scythe, holding out his automail arm to protect his neck from Pitch's intended blow. "He will forever remain in that darkness, until the day arrives when he becomes one with Father."

"Shut up!" Ed shouted, grabbing Pitch's scythe and glaring as blue sparks shot out from his hand. "I will save Al, and I will get our bodies back. I never go back on my word, and I always keep my promises." Ed insisted, watching as the black sand under his grip transformed, becoming golden and bright. He didn't quite know how it worked for Sandy, but he could at least try. It began to unravel from its form as a scythe, flying into the sky in streams that danced in the air, moving towards windows around town and slowly taking on shapes in the air.

Pitch watched with wide eyes, taking a step back from Ed who was now moving forward with confidence. "What was that?" Father asked quietly from behind Pitch, eyeing Ed closely. Ed only smirked, charging forward with his staff once more and slamming it into Pitch's side. The man stumbled back, glaring at Ed as he gripped the handle of the staff that was embedded in his side, trying to free it from Ed's grip. Edward held on, fighting back and finally pulling the blade free from Pitch, taking a few steps back to steady himself as he prepared to attack again.

Red sparks could already be seen dancing around the wound, healing up the damage Ed had dealt instantly. Still, he wasn't going down easily. Jack was back on his feet again, stepping closer to rejoin the fight. "Nice work, you're stronger than you look." he commented, grinning as he tossed a snowball into the air, glancing back at Jaimie with a slight smirk before throwing it into Pitch's face.

"So I've heard. You've got more stupidity than I thought, trying to play games at a time like this." Ed replied, watching as Jack just laughed, shaking his head as he began coating the ground with ice, making Ed glare at him as he slid around on the surface. "Cut it out, this isn't working, Frost!" Ed ordered, but instead, Jack grabbed Ed's arm and began dragging him away from Pitch and Father.

"Come on, we're scaring Jaimie, and that's not good for either of us." Jack stated, making Ed blink a few times, glancing over at the kid who was cowering behind North. "We're going to go get his friends, and I'm going to show you how to have a little fun instead."

Ed nodded, pressing his hand to part of the street that remained uncovered by ice. It quickly transformed, changing into a circular shape that would serve as a sled. A few more transmutations later and there was one for all of them, but it had taken a bit too long. Pitch had brushed the snow off of his face, and he was now enraged, ready to fight Jack again. Seeing this, Jack quickly tossed another snowball in their direction, pelting Pitch once more before following it with another one, this one towards Father. Seeing it as not a threat, he let the snow collide with his face, conserving his energy and watching as the Guardians retreated towards the center of Burgess, stopping at houses to gather other children and gain belief.

Jaimie helped regain belief in others, flying over to his friends' homes with Jack and bringing them out to join their little sledding game. Behind them, Ed could hear others sliding across this ice, a sign that Pitch and Father were following quickly. With that little burst of dream sand and now with the help of Jaimie and Jack, the other Guardians were looking a bit stronger now. Sandy glanced over at Ed with a grin, showing him a decent pile of sand in his palms before throwing it into the air, letting golden sand dance in the skies and spread even further throughout the town.

"Okay, Pitch is going to be a lot like Father, only weaker," Ed told the others, watching them frown at him. "He's a homunculus as well, so he'll recover from any wound until we drain away the power of his Philosopher's Stone. Keep at it and don't give up, we will win this fight."

The sledding had ended, all of them gathered in the street as Father and Pitch arrived standing across from them in the darkness of the night. "You should have stopped me when you had the chance, Fullmetal." Pitch taunted, sending a wave of darkness towards him. Ed grabbed it once more, dispersing it with his alchemy and transmuting it into a staff of darkness.

"I can defeat you anytime, Fear. I'm finally strong enough to face both of you down and win, and even if I fail, I know I'll be able to get back up and try again." Ed insisted, watching as Pitch rolled his eyes, returning to his former weapon and creating a scythe in his hands. He sent it flying out towards Ed, keeping his distance this time as Edward ducked underneath it, rolling across the ground before he transmuted the street again. Cylinders rose from the ground, slamming into Pitch and sending him flying into the air, away from the Guardians and the children.

Father didn't even turn to watch as Pitch was sent far away from them, standing calmly behind an army of Nightmares left behind when Pitch was thrown away. The children were all standing, glancing at the army with fear in their eyes as they gathered behind the Guardians. North was no longer leaning on his swords for support, but there was still exhaustion in his eyes. Tooth was hovering in the air again, but she continually paused to land for a few seconds before jumping back in the air. Bunny was still tiny, held in the palm of North's hand as they stood to face off this army. "Such a pitiful showing, yet so simple for me. God's power is mine for the taking, so I truly must thank you, Edward, for gathering them all in one place for me to take," Father stated.

Ed glanced back at the others with wide eyes, realizing his mistake. "Spread out, don't stand too close to each other!" he ordered, seeing Jack move first to put some space between them. He flew into the air, charging forward towards the Nightmares with a grin as a blast of frost destroyed a small section of them, letting him land in the middle of the army.

"See that, kids? These things are nothing but bad dreams, we'll be just fine." Jack called out from the center, another flash of blue signaling that he was fighting back somewhere within the herd of Nightmares. Ed smirked at that, adjusting his grip on the spear as he moved in to fight as well, slashing out at the nearest Nightmare with the blade of his spear. It stabbed through the dark sand, while his other hand reached out to grab another one and transmute it into Sandy's golden dream sand.

"This is for Sandy, you bastards! Give him back the power you stole from him!" Ed ordered, transmuting yet another Nightmare into dream sand. It was gathering in the air, controlled by Sandy the second it returned to its normal form as he brought it back to himself, utilizing it not only as a weapon but to continue spreading belief once more. North had moved forward, his swords pulled out and ready to fight as he slashed through the Nightmares with ease, grinning over at Ed as they cut through their numbers quickly. Tooth flew higher into the air, getting awed noises from the children as she waved at them and flew into battle, kicking out from above and punching through the sand creatures to destroy them.

Bunny grinned, clearly eager for his own power to return as he stood back next to Sandy. Before long, his normal size had returned, and he threw out his boomerangs to assist his fellow Guardians, taking out more of the lingering Nightmares as Sandy moved forward as well, sand whips in his hands to attack the Nightmares and purify the dream sand. Between all of them, it took less than five minutes to eliminate the army, leaving the six of them facing Father, armed and ready for battle.

"Remember, stay spread out, and keep an eye out for his barrier. He will deflect your attacks, but the more energy he uses, the weaker he'll get." Ed told them, watching the others nod. Bunny attacked first, throwing his boomerang at the blond haired man. Father glanced over at it, frowning as his shield was put in place to block the weapon. Behind him, Jack moved to attack while he was distracted, sending a wave of frost flying towards the man. It seemed as if he had learned from before, though, his shield now a dome around his entire body and blocking attacks from any direction. The frost collided with the shield, simply creating a cloud of fog around the man who remained calm in the center of this battle.

North ran forward with his blades, slashing out at the shield in anger. Father glanced over at him, before sending a blast of energy towards the Guardian of Wonder. North was sent flying back, slamming into a car parked in the street from the attack. Ed watched with wide eyes, his grip tightening on his weapon as he turned back towards Father with a glare. Tooth had been moving to attack herself, but Ed shook his head at her, catching her attention. "Not now. If North can't break through his shield, there's no way you can either." Ed told her, watching her nod and watch nervously, fluttering around by his side.

Sandy frowned at Father, creating a massive dinosaur out of his dream sand. The animal went charging towards Father, crashing into the shield and collapsing on the ground, shaking its head as if in a daze. It recovered, backing up again before trying to ram Father again. Jack sent another blast of ice towards Father as the sand animal continued its attempted attacks, while Bunny opened up his tunnels to bring his egg sentinels here for battle. The rock creatures joined the sand animal's assault on Father's wards. Sandy created more animals as well, a massive bear, hawks, and an entire pack of wolves al charging forward to attack. Father's form became blocked from Ed's vision, surrounded entirely by others battling. As if that wasn't enough, North threw his globes down, opening a portal to the workshop and summoning his yetis to join the battle, all of them surrounding Father.

A massive blast of energy sent all of them flying back, revealing a very angry man within the center of it all. "Enough!" he shouted, glaring at the Guardians who still stood ready to attack. "I will have your power, I am stronger than any being on this planet!" Father insisted, a crazed look entering his eyes. He focused on Ed, raising his arm as a piercing blow of energy was sent towards him, forcing Ed to fly backward onto the street. In the process, he had lost his grip on the spear, and his gaze glanced around in search for it. Father was coming closer, targeting him for some reason even though he hadn't even attempted an attack yet. "I am tired of your meddling, Edward. Your usefulness ended long ago, and it is time for you to perish and rejoin your friends."

Father stopped by Ed's spear, picking it up as he approached the boy on the ground. Jack tried to stop him, flying forward and sending an icy blast towards Father. In response, the man turned his head towards the winter spirit with a glare, energy sending Jack flying back onto the street once more. Sandy lashed out with his whips, wrapping them around Father's entire ward to try and hold him back. This seemed to give him pause, making Father stop moving for a moment as he observed the restraints around his barrier. With a scowl, the entire shield shattered, piercing through the sand as well as he sent the energy flying towards Sandy, leaving him on the ground as well.

Tooth saw her chance and came flying in towards Father, but just as her fist nearly collided with his head, his shield reformed, letting all of her strength collide with an impenetrable barrier. With all of these delays, Edward was getting back up, but Father reacted too quickly to let him stay up for long. He threw the spear in his hand, piercing through Ed's automail shoulder and pinning him to the ground below. While it wasn't painful, the damage done to his arm left the limb handling uselessly by his side. It wouldn't respond to his desire to move it anymore, and that realization made his eyebrows furrow in concentration, trying to come up with a plan to escape.

North threw his sword at Father in anger, but it bounced off of his shield, making the man stop and smile, picking the new weapon up and carrying it with him as he approached the spot on the street where Edward remained pinned, incapable of escape. When Father knelt down to attack, however, Ed propelled his feet into the air, kicking out at the man in anger. He wasn't going down so easily, and this time, his foot actually collided with Father. It seemed as if he hadn't realized Ed could still fight like this, and that was his mistake.

Father took a step back after the blow, but Ed knew he'd recover quick. Moving his free arm, Ed quickly moved to detach his arm completely, since it wasn't working anyway. As soon as it was off, he was free and capable of getting back to his feet, but Father was back on top of him with that sword, slashing out towards Edward. The fullmetal alchemist dodged, rolling tot he side to avoid the blade that slashed out into the street. Father glared at Ed, stomping down on what remained of his arm and shattering it into pieces, rendering it useless even as a weapon at this point. Ed could have transmuted it still, but he was focused on survival first, then on attack.

Pressing his palm against the street, Ed created ten thin cones from the ground, their sharp ends flying towards Father to try and stab him and deal as much damage as possible. His shield was up once more, blocking them and shattering the rock. Ed scowled, deciding that he needed a bit of a more direct approach. "Sandy, Jack, attack now!" Ed ordered, not looking back to see if they had listened. He was running towards Father, watching the man's eyes widen as he pressed his hand against the man's shield. Blue sparks danced in the air, as Ed slowly began to smirk at Father. "I may have picked up a few tricks not too long ago. Let's see you boast about your power now, you bastard."

Ice and golden sand came flying in just as Edward shattered Father's shield, deconstructing it with his alchemy. Father's skin was cut apart by shards of ice, as the sand took on the form of whips in Sandy's grip. The Guardian of Dreams smiled as he picked Father up into the air, slamming the man into the ground. He was then thrown back into the air, where Sandy grabbed him once more to throw him into a nearby car. A car alarm echoed around them from the collision, but Sandy was not done. Ed was watching with a grin as Father was continually beat against buildings, cars, streets, and even streetlights. Even the children were watching with wide eyes, their mouths hanging open in shock as such a powerful being was tossed around like nothing.

"Go Sandman!" Jaimie called out, grinning as his friends joined in on cheering them on.

"That was awesome!" Caleb claimed, grinning around at his friends. Even Cupcake was nodding in agreement, laughing at the sight of these magical being fighting to keep them safe.

Father's body was trying to recover, red sparks dancing around as he rose to his feet. His eyes were wild, his breathing ragged as he took a staggering step closer to the Guardians. "I…will…destroy…" he mumbled, his body swaying slightly. Ed saw something familiar in his mouth, though, a dark shadow with a single eye inside. God's power was going out of control, now that they had drained away the energy from his Philosopher's Stone.

"Take cover! He's losing control." Ed shouted, pressing his palm to the street and creating a stone wall in front of them. A massive blast of energy collided with it, sending shudders through the creation before it finally shattered from the pressure. Jack came forward to try and help as Ed created yet another wall. Once the stone was in place, Jack created a thick layer of ice on the other side, followed by snow to try and reinforce the structure. Ed didn't understand how something as brittle as ice was supposed to help, but he'd take anything at this point.

Another blast collided with their new wall, and it was clear that they couldn't really create much to withstand this kind of power. This time when it shattered, the rocks and ice went flying towards them, sending Ed onto his back as the rocks cut into his skin. Tooth, North, and Bunny had been using cars as cover, but they stood up with concern at the sight of Jack, Sandy, and Ed on the ground behind their attempted shield. "We'll be fine." Ed told them, gazing up at the sky with a slight smile. He could just barely see Father, over the remains of the wall. His body was staggering around on the street, shadows erupting from his mouth that ensnared is body and seemed to eat away at him. He vanished from sight, as Jack glanced over at Ed with a grin. Ed hardly had any energy left, but as his eyes closed, he let out a breath of relief. "It's over."

 **I'm sorry for missing my update here yesterday. However, this is a rather long chapter so I hope you don't mind. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!**


	12. Brothers United

**Disclaimer** : I am not the owner of Fullmetal Alchemist or Rise of the Guardians

Ed didn't know how long he was passed out for, but he woke up in a familiar place. Elves walked around on the ground, one of them smiling as he offered Ed a plate of cookies. He was about to take one when he paused, seeing a few on the plate that had bites missing out of them. Instead, he pulled his hand back and sighed, letting it rest on his forehead as the elf ran out of the room with a grin, letting Ed rest in North's workshop peacefully.

"Brother, are you awake?" someone asked, making Ed's head turn towards his right. Another bed was in this room, a new room of the workshop Ed hadn't seen quite yet. It was similar in style to the others, with a fireplace keeping it warm and Christmas decorations scattered throughout, but it was also smaller. Their two beds took up most of the room, with a small dresser between them that held a lamp on top. In the other bed, a scrawny boy rested with long, scraggly blond hair and golden eyes that were so familiar to Ed.

"Al….you're back," Ed said quietly, a smile on his face. Al nodded, returning Ed's smile as he rolled over onto his side to speak with his brother.

"Yeah, though my memory is kind of hazy. What happened to us? I remember….we were fighting against Father….your arm broke….and then it's just blank. Brother, did we stop him?" Al asked, focused on his brother.

Ed frowned slightly, turning away and gazing at the ceiling. In his mind, he was remembering the way Al acted back within the Gate, when he last saw the boy. Still, he couldn't lie to Al, no matter how badly he wanted to protect his brother. "Eventually. It's kind of a long story," Ed told Al at last, not having the heart to explain all of this at once.

Before Al could ask any more questions, a door burst open, revealing a grinning North on the other side. "Ed, the elves tell me you are awake! How are you feeling? We've been treating you well since the battle, waiting for you to take the oath."

Ed scowled, glaring over at him in irritation. Al was staring at North with wide eyes, unsure of what to make of this man. "Brother, who is this? Where are we, I can't—" he was beginning to say, but Ed shook his head, giving his brother a focused look to try and tell him that they would talk more later. Al nodded, giving Ed a small smile as he leaned back into his bed and let Ed focus on North.

"What about Al? Did he just show up here…or…how did you find him?" Ed asked, focusing on North who smiled, sitting down at the edge of Ed's bed to talk.

Al frowned at that, unsure of what to make of Ed's words. "After the battle, you passed out. Not too surprising, you fought hard, but we needed to leave before the children were missed from their homes. Only a few moments after you passed out, something strange seemed to happen. The moon shone brighter, a message from Manny, but there was no message. Instead, a boy appeared on the ground, and…well, see for yourself." North commented, pointing over towards Edward's right side.

Ed glanced down, frowning and wondering what North was talking about. His eyes widened at what he found, however, seeing no signs of metal remaining on his shoulder. Instead, his flesh arm was there, in place on his body with only a scar to remind him of what he once had done. His coat was not on, and looking around, he could see that it was hanging on the door handle of the room while Ed remained dressed in just his black tank top and pants. Still, the arm was what held his attention, and he watched as he moved it slowly, bending the elbow around and moving his fingers to see if he was imagining this, or if it was real.

"He gave it back." Ed stated quietly, slowly beginning to smile as he glanced up at North. The older man frowned, looking confused, but Ed didn't care too much. "Well, looks like I've finally done it, Al. We've got our bodies back. So, have you gotten to eat any apple pie yet? I know you've been looking forward to it for ages," Ed asked, watching as Al gave him a slight laugh, shaking his head.

"No way! I didn't realize how weak my body had gotten over the years. I've been in this bed since I woke up today. The only reason I stayed in this place was because you were here too, Brother. Who is your new friend?"

Ed grinned, turning towards Al as North rose to his feet once more. "Al, I'd like you to meet North, the Guardian of Wonder. North, this is my brother Al, and from what I understand, he's meant to be the Guardian of Kindness."

Al blinked a few times, looking a bit startled by Ed's words. "And what about you? Edward, have you found your center?" he asked, focusing on the elder brother who grinned, nodding.

"Hell yes, I have. Anyway, I've spent way too long in this bed, we've got things to do after all," Ed insisted, getting up and grinning over at Al. "Al's spent far too long without his body, so if he can't get up and experience things for himself, I'll bring things to him."

Al smiled at his brother, looking happy as Ed walked over to the door to get his coat, putting it on before walking back towards Al. "Brother…why can't I remember? Did…is this part of the price we paid?" he asked, sounding a bit concerned.

Ed glanced away, looking at the floor as he sighed and closed his eyes. "I guess you could say that," he said at last. "Al….you've been in that place….god, I can't even tell you how long it's been. I had forgotten myself….Truth tried giving me some of his power to defeat Father, but in return I lost my memories," Ed tried to explain, but it was feeling empty and not like it was enough. His hand clenched itself into a fist as it rested on Al's bed, his gaze not willing to turn towards his brother.

He felt Al's hand move to cover his own, gently squeezing his brother's hand. "Brother…it's okay. i've finally gotten my body back, and that's what matters. I know you would never give up on me, so please, don't give up on yourself either," he insisted softly, while Ed took a deep breath, nodding as he gave Al a small smile.

"Thanks, Al. I'm glad you can forgive me…if you remembered what had happened….I don't think you would even recognize me to be honest." Ed stated, a slightly haunted look entering his eyes. "You were in the Gate for at least a century before I got you out. Looks like Truth thought I did enough to earn more than just your body, though." he added, glancing down at his right arm.

Al smiled, keeping his hand on Ed's as he rested in bed. North glanced between the two brothers, giving Ed a smile as he moved to leave them alone. "I shall give you two some time to recover. We will do oath later, no?" he asked, while Ed nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll get to it eventually." Ed said dismissively, not really all that concerned. He already was a Guardian at heart, he didn't need any ceremony to make it official.

"Brother, would you mind staying with me for a bit? It feels nice…just being able to feel you here again," Al asked, while Ed nodded, sitting down on the bed next to his brother. Al looked exhausted, and Ed was not going to leave and make him feel any worse. Slowly, Al's eyes began to drift shut under Ed's watchful gaze. They still had a lot to catch up on, but it was clear that they were going to be alright. Even if things had changed, they had a place where they would always be welcome, and they finally understood what they were meant to do. All of the problems they dealt with in life only prepared them for this, for the day they became true Guardians for the people of the world. Ed gave himself a small smile as he wrapped his arm around Al's shoulders, letting his brother rest before falling asleep himself, by his brother's side where he would remain for years to come.

 **This one is a rather shorter story compared to what I've been writing lately, but I have finally brought it to an end. I do hope you all enjoyed. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!**


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